World Central Kitchen aid vehicle struck by an Israeli missile<\/p>\n
Israel has come under intense international criticism after its warplanes targeted vehicles carrying aid workers in Gaza, killing seven.<\/p>\n
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has tried to brush-off the incident, saying, \u201cThis happens in war\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, the strike follows an increasingly familiar pattern where Israeli forces target medical facilities or aid efforts striving to stave off food shortages and famine in Gaza.<\/p>\n
The two vehicles struck were both emblazoned with World Central Kitchen (WCK) logos on their roofs and sides, making claims of mistaken identification sound unconvincing. In addition, both vehicles had just left a humanitarian aid supply warehouse in Gaza when they were struck.<\/p>\n
Meaning it should have been clear that they were part of an international humanitarian aid effort.<\/p>\n
The air strike follows the IDF\u2019s recent raid on the al-Shifa hospital<\/a> in Gaza, during which the IDF forced medical staff and patients to evacuate the hospital before leaving it devastated and abandoned.<\/p>\n Eyewitnesses who returned to the hospital on Monday, after the IDF had left, reported finding bodies strewn inside and outside the facility.<\/p>\n According to Al Jazeera:<\/p>\n Mohammed Mahdi, who was among those who returned, described a scene of \u201ctotal destruction\u201d. He said several buildings had been burned down and that he had counted six bodies in the area, including two in the hospital courtyard.<\/p>\n If the Israelis had intended to disrupt humanitarian aid to Gaza by targeting aid workers then they succeeded.<\/p>\n In the wake of the strike on the WCK vehicles aid shipments from Cyprus to Gaza have been temporarily suspended, pending the outcome of an inquiry<\/a> into the incident.<\/p>\n No doubt this will please the Israelis, as it makes the prospect of mass starvation and famine in Gaza all the more likely.<\/p>\n All the Israelis have to do now is play for time and claim the strike was an \u2018accident\u2019. While the prospect of mass starvation looms larger and more Palestinians consider leaving Gaza permanently.<\/p>\n This all falls into line with schemes to depopulate the territory and redevelop it<\/a>. Recalling all the worst Nazi stereotypes, Jared Kushner, Trump\u2019s son-law and former White House advisor and property developer has said, this could be a very profitable enterprise<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just not for the Palestinians who presently occupy the land. Ed.<\/p>\n The charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) has confirmed that three of the seven humanitarian aid workers killed in Gaza yesterday by an Israeli airstrike were UK citizens.<\/strong><\/p>\n The group had been travelling in two armoured vehicles branded with the charity\u2019s logo.<\/p>\n WCK said those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen. The charity said it was suspending operations in the Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n Other aid agencies have also suspended operations, and aid being sent through a maritime corridor from Cyprus is being returned. Aid organisations have warned of imminent famine in the territory.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong>, earlier described<\/a> the deaths as \u201ca tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza<\/a> Strip,\u201d adding that \u201cThis happens in wartime.\u201d<\/p>\nThree British aid workers confirmed killed yesterday in Israeli airstrike in Gaza<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Guardian \u2013 April 2, 2024<\/strong><\/h3>\n