Israel Fires Two Officers after Finding Grave Errors in Strike on Aid Workers

JERUSALEM, Reuters: The Israeli military dismissed two officers and formally reprimanded senior commanders after an inquiry into the killing of seven aid workers in an air strike in Gaza this week found serious errors and breaches of procedure, the military said.

The inquiry found Israeli forces mistakenly believed they were attacking Hamas gunmen when drones hit the three vehicles of the World Central Kitchen aid group late on Monday night, and that standard procedures had not been followed.

“The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures,” the military said in a statement issued on Friday.

The killing of the seven aid workers, who included citizens of Britain, Australia and Poland, a dual U.S.-Canadian national and a Palestinian colleague, stirred global outrage this week.

In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden threatened a shift in U.S. policy towards Israel unless it reduced harm to civilians in Gaza, which had depended on aid even before the war. Hunger has spread since fighting began six months ago.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday Washington was carefully reviewing Israel’s inquiry and would look very carefully at what steps Israel was taking.