Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that an Israeli airstrike that killed seven people working for the humanitarian World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza was unintentional and "tragic", and the military promised an independent investigation.
Israel's military expressed its "sincere sorrow" over the crash, which drew widespread condemnation and increased pressure to ease the disastrous humanitarian situation in Gaza after nearly six months of war.
In the attack on the WTC convoy, Australian, British and Polish citizens were killed, as well as Palestinians and an American-Canadian citizen.
WCK, founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said they were traveling in two armored vehicles with the humanitarian organization's logo and another vehicle.
"Unfortunately, a tragic event took place yesterday in which our forces unintentionally harmed civilians in Gaza," Netanyahu said in a video statement.
"That's what happens in war. We are conducting a thorough investigation and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent it from happening again."
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Israel to conduct an immediate investigation, but did not directly condemn the attack
Britain summoned Israel's ambassador to London to express its "unequivocal condemnation of the horrific murder" of the WCK workers, three of whom were British nationals.
"Israel must urgently explain how this happened and make major changes to ensure the safety of aid workers on the ground," British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a post on the X network.
The United Nations said the killing was "an inevitable result of the way the war is currently being waged".
Israel has long denied accusations that it is holding up the distribution of urgently needed aid to Gaza, arguing that the problem was caused by the inability of international humanitarian groups to deliver it to those in need.
Despite coordinating the movement with the Israeli army, the convoy was hit as it left its depot in Deir al-Balah after unloading more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid that had been brought to Gaza by sea, the WCK said.
"It's not just an attack on WCK, it's an attack on the humanitarian organizations that step in in the most difficult situations where food is used as a weapon of war," said Erin Gore, executive director of the World Central Kitchen.
"It is unforgivable".
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Washington had spoken directly with the Israeli government and "called for an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation to clarify exactly what happened". Blinken also told reporters in Paris that aid workers must be protected.
"Those people are heroes, they jump into the fire," he said of the seven workers. "We shouldn't have a situation where people who are just trying to help other people find themselves in a dangerous situation."
But Blinken did not directly condemn the attack, unlike his French counterpart Stefan Sejourn.
Speaking alongside Blinken, Sejourne said France "strongly condemns" the Israeli airstrike. "Nothing can justify such a tragedy," he said.
US President Joe Biden is facing pressure from foreign partners, rights groups and some Democrats in Congress to impose conditions on arms transfers to curb Israel's offensive on Gaza, where health officials say more than 32.000 Palestinians have been killed.
Britain, Australia and Poland, countries generally friendly to Israel, have called for action to protect aid workers, underscoring Netanyahu's growing diplomatic isolation over the situation in Gaza.
The Israeli military (IDF) said it was conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to clarify the circumstances of what it called a tragic incident, and promised an "independent, professional and expert body" to investigate.
Israel is under increasing international pressure to alleviate severe hunger in Gaza, which has been devastated by months of fighting against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Much of the enclave was devastated, and most of the 2,3 million inhabitants were displaced.
The United Nations and other international groups have accused Israel of obstructing aid distribution with bureaucratic obstacles and of failing to ensure the safety of food convoys, as demonstrated by the February 29 tragedy, in which about 100 people died while waiting for aid to be delivered.
Hamas said that the main problem with the delivery of aid is Israel's attacks on aid workers. After the latest incident, he issued a statement saying the attacks were aimed at terrorizing international aid agencies, distracting them from their missions.
Last week, the World Court ordered Israel to take all necessary and effective measures to provide basic food supplies to the Palestinian population of the enclave and stop the spread of hunger.
In response, Israeli officials accused the United Nations and other international bodies of "failure" to deal with the problems of delivering aid to the hungry people of Gaza, saying they lacked the logistical capacity to do their job.
Andres, who started WCK in 2010 by sending cooks and food to Haiti after the earthquake, said he was heartbroken and grieving for the families and friends of those killed in the airstrike.
"The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It should stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon."
The WCK, which last month said it had served more than 42 million meals in Gaza over 175 days, announced that it was immediately suspending operations in the region and would soon make decisions about the future of its work.
The situation in Gaza remains extremely unstable. Clashes continued in several areas yesterday and 71 people were killed in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours, Gaza health authorities said.
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