LBC host Nick Ferrari announced Tuesday that Israeli Defence Force (IDF) spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner “cancelled” his scheduled LBC interview with “seconds notice”
Ferrari was hoping to discuss killing of seven World Central Kitchen volunteers and the operation at al-Shifa hospital, in which doctors were reportedly shot “point blank.” Lerner was due to speak with Ferrari, having appeared on the show several times in the past, but opted out just before his appearance.
The host said: “Take from this what you will, but up until about a minute and a half ago, we were due to speak with Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, who’s a spokesman for the IDF, the Israeli Defence Forces, and that interview has just been cancelled with seconds notice.
He continued: “As I say, take from that what you will, but certainly there are questions to be answered. Whether it’s the tragic death of these aid workers, and I will read that an investigation is apparently going underway now, a thorough review. It would have been nice to speak to someone about more of that, wouldn’t it? Or indeed the shell that is the al-Shifa hospital. It would have been quite informative to have been able to have a conversation with him about that as well. And goodness knows what we might see as a result of this supposed Israeli bombing of that [Iranian] consulate.”
It’s emerged that a British volunteer is among the seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) who were killed in an Israeli airstrike. The murdered volunteers include citizens from Australia, Poland, Palestine, and a dual US-Canada national. They were part of a convoy delivering vital humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The group were travelling in two armoured cars, clearly marked with the WCK logo, were targeted as they left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah after delivering food aid to northern Gaza from a shipment that arrived hours earlier. Red Crescent paramedic Mahmoud Thabet told the Associated Press the car was hit just after crossing from northern Gaza. The strike has led to the charity to pausing its operations in Gaza temporarily.
The IDF say they have initiated a high-level investigation to determine the circumstances leading to the targeted attack. Their statement highlighted the ongoing collaboration with WCK to ensure the safe delivery of aid to Gaza’s besieged population.
On Monday, Israeli strike on Syria consulate killed several people, including Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy. This came as first images and testimonies emerged from Israel’s raid at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, which left the buildings in ruins with reports that doctors were “executed” at “point blank” range.
