The death toll in Gaza has risen to seven, including three British aid workers, following an Israeli air strike on an aid convoy that was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse. The charity in question, World Central Kitchen (WCK), had provided more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid. Other victims were Australian, Polish, Palestinian and a US-Canadian citizen. Israel has denounced the attack as an “unintended strike,” while the UK has summoned the Israeli ambassador after the charity urged an urgent investigation into the matter. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and called on Israel to allow the charity workers to continue their work undisturbed.
The charity, which aims to provide meals in humanitarian crises, has served 42 million meals during its 175-day work in Gaza. Last month, WCK was part of the first maritime humanitarian aid shipment mission to Gaza. The aid worker deaths occurred either due to a “dreadful failure of deconfliction” or as proof that the existing system is unfit for the purpose, according to an unnamed UN official. Deconfliction is a system that allows aid organisations to work in war zones, enabling them to notify military powers where they are working and when they are on the move.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer condemned the air strike as “outrageous and unacceptable,” calling on international law to be upheld and for humanitarian workers to be protected. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message stating that Israeli forces were responsible for the attack and that they had unintentionally hit innocent people in Gaza. After expressing his condolences to the families of the victims, he further added that Israel would do everything necessary to ensure that such an incident does not occur again.
While the UK has reiterated its longstanding position that Israel has both the intention and the ability to comply with international humanitarian laws, the incident has once again put the spotlight on Israel’s policies towards Gaza and raised a series of questions in the international media about the effectiveness of deconfliction systems
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