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Deadly Israeli strike on aid convoy in Gaza was no accident – and the IDF likely knew EXACTLY who they were targeting

By isabelle // 2024-04-07

Israel insists its recent deadly attack on a World Central Kitchen aid convoy in Gaza was nothing more than a tragic accident, but more evidence is emerging that they are not as innocent as they claim. The April 1 attack killed seven humanitarian aid workers as their vehicles left a warehouse in Gaza. They were providing food aid through the charity, helping to feed starving Gazans as Israel continues to carry out attacks there and cut them off from basic necessities. Disturbing images showed the vehicles completely blown apart by drone missiles. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to play it off as an accident, calling it a “tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people,” this characterization immediately came under attack by the World Central Kitchen. The food charity said that they had been coordinating movements with the IDF, which means they knew exactly where they were. Moreover, their three-vehicle convoy was clearly marked and had the charity’s logo on full display from the roof to ensure it could be identified by air. Another thing that points to multiple targeted strikes is the fact that each of the three vehicles were hit in succession quickly while moving at a significant distance apart from one another. A former British Army Major, Chris Lincoln-Jones, shared a similar assessment after reviewing images of the damaged vehicles. He said that the strikes were highly targeted and that the missiles the IDF used were “absolutely, perfectly accurate.” Moreover, the drone involved is the Elbit Hermes 450, which is considered one of the IDF’s top surveillance, intelligence, reconnaissance and target acquisition vehicles. Boasting infrared and electro-optical cameras, it is capable of capturing high-definition images at all hours of the day and night, so it should have been quite easy for IDF operators to see the World Central Kitchen’s logo on the cars. In fact, Lincoln-Jones believes that the IDF would “probably even know the names of the people on board” because it had been moving along a pre-approved route.

World Central Kitchen officials believe aid workers were deliberately targeted

Spanish chef Jose Andres, who founded the World Central Kitchen, and the charity’s CEO, Erin Gore, have both been vocal about accusing the IDF of “systematically” and deliberately targeting them. Andres said: “'This was not just a bad luck situation where 'oops' we dropped the bomb in the wrong place. “This was over 1.5km, 1.8km, with a very defined humanitarian convoy that had signs in the top, in the roof, a very colourful logo... It's very clear who we are and what we do.” Gore added that Israeli authorities were fully aware of the route, itinerary and humanitarian mission of the convoy.

IDF is trying to claim incident was a case of mistaken identity

The IDF has since fired a pair of senior officers and reprimanded one of its top commanders following an investigation into the incident. They stated that “those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives,” and characterized the attack as “a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification.” They maintain that the IDF officers involved in the incident “misidentified” an object that was slung over the shoulders of a passenger in the convoy as a weapon; they now believe the object was a bag. When the convoy left the warehouse, an IDF commander “mistakenly assumed that the gunmen were located inside the accompanying vehicles and that these were Hamas terrorists,” according to a report. They also claim their drones were unable to see the charity’s logo on the vehicles in the darkness of night. Perhaps most chillingly, they admitted that some of the workers who had been traveling in the first car of the convoy survived the strike on it and fled to the second convoy, but then died when it was targeted as well. Sources for this article include: DailyMail.co.uk CNN.com  

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