The founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK) has accused Israel of targeting his aid workers “systematically, car by car” during the strikes that left seven dead on Monday, as mounting international fury over the attack further strains Western support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
WCK challenged Israel’s response to the attacks in a fresh statement on Thursday and called for an independent inquiry into the strikes, which hit three WCK cars in central Gaza.
“Israel has admitted to the killings but called it a ‘a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants,’ and something that ‘happens in war,’” the non-governmental organization said.
“This was a military attack that involved multiple strikes and targeted three WCK vehicles. All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission,” it added.
Seven people – three Britons, a Palestinian, a US-Canadian dual citizen, an Australian and a Pole – were killed in the strikes, setting off fury in those countries and sparking even greater scrutiny of Israel’s conduct in Gaza since it launched its war against Hamas in October.
In a Reuters interview, the celebrity chef Jose Andres – who founded WCK in 2010 – accused Israel of “systematically” targeting the seven WCK aid workers. This was not a “bad luck situation where, ‘oops,’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,” Andres told Reuters.
Read more at AOL.com
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