The attack forced the organisation to pause its operations in the region until further notice.
Qatar has joined global condemnations of Israel’s attack on aid workers in Gaza on Monday, following the killing of seven members from the World Central Kitchen (QCK).
In a statement on Tuesday, Qatar’s foreign ministry described the attack as “a shocking crime that violated” humanitarian and international laws.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms the State of Qatar’s complete rejection of the weaponising food against civilians in the war on Gaza, and stressed the need for aid to reach all areas of the Strip unhindered,” the statement added.
Qatar reiterated “the importance of strengthening regional and international efforts for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.” It also called for “accountability and non-impunity for all crimes committed as a result of the horrific war.”
The WCK had confirmed that Israeli forces targeted two of their vehicles, which clearly displayed their logo, while it was travelling in “a deconflicted zone.”
Israeli forces attacked the cars despite prior coordination with the Israeli forces to travel from the Deir Al-Balah warehouse, where the team unloaded more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid.
The aid came through the maritime corridor it helped establish alongside the United Arab Emirates. Those killed were from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, and Palestine.
The attack forced the organisation to pause its operations in the region until further notice.
Erin Gore, the WCK’s CEO, said the attack was on humanitarian organisations attempting to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza “where food is being used as a weapon of war.”
“I am heartbroken and appalled that we — World Central Kitchen and the world — lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished,” Gore added.
After being met with global outrage including from Western nations, Israel was quick to apologise for the attack.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday he ordered a transparent probe into the incident. The chief of the general staff Herzi Halevi separately said the attack was unintentional.
“I want to be very clear — the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers. It was a mistake that followed a misidentification — at night during a war in very complex conditions. It shouldn’t have happened,” Halevi said on Wednesday.
World reacts
U.S. President Joe Biden described the incident as “a tragedy”, saying that “Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians.”
“This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult – because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians. Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen,” Biden said.
The UK summoned Israel’s ambassador in London on Tuesday to express its “unequivocal condemnation of the appalling killing.”
“Israel must urgently explain how this happened and make major changes to ensure safety of aid workers on the ground,” UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on X.
The United Arab Emirates also decided to pause its involvement in the maritime aid corridor until Israel guarantees the safety of aid workers, sources close to the Emirati government told Axios.
Canada, Poland and Australia also voiced their outrage over the incident while calling for a probe into the killing of their citizens.
Nearly six months of war
The attack on the aid workers came under Israel’s efforts to prevent any form of access to basic resources to Gaza’s 2.2 million population under the ongoing genocidal war.
Israel has only persisted in its killings and rights violations in Gaza without being held to account while brushing off the International Court of Justice’s provisions.
Nearly six months on, Israel has killed around 33,000 people in the Gaza Strip while at least 31 people died from starvation.
As of March 29, Israel killed 174 United Nations staff, 348 health workers, 48 civil defence members, and 15 members from the Palestinian Red Crescent, according to the UN.
The cost of damage to Gaza’s infrastructure during the first four months of the war is estimated at $18.5 billion, according to a recent report by the World Bank and the UN.
“As of the end of January 2024, direct damage of around US$18.5 billion has been inflicted on the built infrastructure of Gaza, equivalent to 97 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product of the West Bank and Gaza in 2022,” the report said.
Housing units account for 72 percent of the damage costs, or $13.3 billion, whereas public service, energy, and water facilities have suffered nearly $800 million in damages.
Meanwhile, efforts by mediators Qatar and Egypt have been ongoing in hopes of reaching a ceasefire and a captives release deal.
In his statement regarding the WCK incident, Biden said the U.S. is pushing “for an immediate ceasefire.”
“I will continue to press Israel to do more to facilitate that aid. And we are pushing hard for an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal. I have a team in Cairo working on this right now,” Biden said.
Israel’s negotiating team returned from Cairo on Tuesday and put together “an updated proposal for Hamas,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
Throughout the talks, Hamas’s main demand has been the unconditional return of Palestinians to Gaza and a permanent ceasefire, which Israel has repeatedly refused.
