Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday admitted that its armed forces killed seven aid workers in an air strike in Gaza, claiming that the strike was “unintentional”.
“Unfortunately, in the last day there was a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said as he left the hospital after a hernia operation.
“It happens in war, we will investigate it right to the end… We are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything so that this thing does not happen again.”
Netanyahu’s admission comes after a massive international backlash led by allies like the United States and Britain.
The aid workers were killed in a deadly strike in the Gaza Strip as they unloaded desperately needed aid brought by sea to the war-torn territory.
World Central Kitchen, one of the NGOs spearheading the aid efforts, suspended the operations in Gaza after their seven staff members were killed in the strike. The food charity, founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, said a “targeted Israeli strike” killed Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish and US-Canadian staff.
Footage showed the bodies, several wearing protective gear with the charity’s logo, at a hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah.
Andrés said he was “heartbroken” by the deaths of his colleagues.
“The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Washington, Israel’s main ally, said it was “heartbroken and deeply troubled by the strike”.
“Humanitarian aid workers must be protected as they deliver aid that is desperately needed,” US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
(With inputs from agencies)
