By JULIA FRANKEL (Associated Press)
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military stated on Friday that it fired two officers and reprimanded three others for their involvement in drone strikes in Gaza that resulted in the deaths of seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission. The military said the officers mishandled crucial information and violated army rules.
A retired general's investigation into the killings on Monday showed an embarrassing admission by Israel, which is facing increasing accusations from major allies, including the United States, of not adequately protecting Gaza's civilians during its conflict with the militant Hamas group.
The investigation's findings are likely to reinforce widespread doubt about the Israeli military's decision-making. Palestinians, aid groups, and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of recklessly firing at civilians throughout the conflict — a claim Israel denies.
Military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters, “It's a tragedy. It's a serious event that we are responsible for, and it shouldn't have happened. And we will make sure that it won't happen again.”
Under increasing pressure, Hagari and other officials presented the investigation's results to reporters late Thursday.
The speed of the probe and the swift punishment of five senior officers were unusual. Such investigations are often slow, and in most cases, they end without charges being filed. Human rights activists have long complained that Israeli forces operate with impunity, an allegation the military denies.
Still, the punishments and the apology seemed unlikely to calm the rising international outcry over the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers or to reassure international aid groups that it is safe to resume operations in Gaza, where nearly a third of the population is on the brink of starvation.
The army refused to address questions about whether similar breaches of rules of engagement have occurred during the war. Alongside many civilian deaths, more than 220 humanitarian workers have been killed in the conflict, according to the United Nations, including at least 30 killed while on duty.
World Central Kitchen called the investigation and disciplinary actions “important steps forward” — but said more needed to be done.
“Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families,” the statement read, repeating a call for an independent investigation.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was important that Israel was taking responsibility, and that the U.S. would review the findings “to see not just what steps are being taken but the results.”
Military spokespeople stated that under the Israeli army’s rules of engagement, officers must have more than one reason for identifying someone as a target before they can be hit. However, the investigation found that a colonel had authorized the series of deadly drone strikes on the convoy based on one major’s observation — from grainy drone-camera footage — that someone in the convoy was armed.
The military officials said that observation was not true.
The army said the colonel and the major were fired, while three other officers were reprimanded, including the head of the Southern Command. The investigation results were given to the military’s advocate general, who will decide if the officers or others involved in the killings should face more punishment or prosecution.
Israel’s closest allies condemned the killings. The criticism of Israel’s actions in the nearly 6-month-old war with Hamas increased, focusing attention on the dire situation in Gaza. The humanitarian group Oxfam reported that people in the enclave’s north have been surviving on an average of 245 calories a day since January — less than the amount found in a can of fava beans and less than 12% of the recommended daily intake.
Israel has pledged to open more border crossings into Gaza and increase aid flow into the territory. However, Blinken said Friday that those measures may not be sufficient to meet the Biden administration’s demands for significant improvements in humanitarian conditions.
If fully carried out, the measures could increase assistance to Palestinians. However, the U.S. also wants to see concrete steps to better protect civilians and aid workers, according to him.
It was not immediately clear when the Erez crossing — which borders hard-hit northern Gaza — would open or how much additional cargo it could handle. The crossing, designed for passenger traffic, was heavily damaged in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mentioned Israel’s acknowledgment of mistakes and punishment of the officers.
“But the essential problem is not who made the mistakes, it is the military strategy and procedures in place that allow for those mistakes to multiply time and time again,” he said. “Fixing those failures requires independent investigations and meaningful and measurable change on the ground.”
He called for an immediate cease-fire, the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and a “quantum leap” in the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The people killed on Monday were three British citizens, a Polish citizen, an Australian, a Canadian American dual citizen, and a Palestinian, all of whom worked for World Central Kitchen, the international charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés.
The investigation, led by Yoav Har-Even, a retired general, identified two major areas of wrongdoing.
It blamed officers for neglecting to read messages warning troops that cars, not aid trucks, would transport workers from the charity away from the warehouse where aid was distributed. As a result, the cars that were attacked were misidentified as carrying militants.
The army also criticized a major who identified the strike target and a colonel who approved the strike for acting with inadequate information.
The army said the order was given after one of the passengers inside a car was recognized as a gunman. It said troops became suspicious because a gunman had been seen on the roof of one of the delivery trucks on the way to the warehouse.
The military presented video of the gunman shooting from on top of a truck, but The Associated Press could not confirm its authenticity.
After delivering aid to a warehouse, an officer thought he saw a gunman getting into a car. However, it turned out that the person in the car didn't have a weapon. The military suggested that he might have just been carrying a bag.
The army reported that they targeted one car, and when people ran into a second car, they also hit that vehicle. The same thing happened when survivors went into a third car.
The army and World Central Kitchen coordinated the convoy's movements, and the vehicles had the organization's logo. However, the army said drone operators couldn't see the words because it was nighttime.
The army couldn't specify where the breakdown in communication about the convoy's plans occurred.
Scott Paul of Oxfam stated that the killing of aid workers in Gaza is not uncommon, during a briefing with other relief organizations before the release of Israel's investigation results.
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