Israel promises probe as leaders decry deadly airstrike on aid convoy

Leaders around the world condemned the deaths of seven aid workers in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, while Israel promised on Tuesday to investigate and ensure such incidents would not recur in the future.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was responsible for the deadly attack in a statement on Tuesday.

He called it a "tragic case of an unintentional strike" by Israeli forces on "innocent people," in a video posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

British, Australian, Polish, US-Canadian and Palestinian nationals were killed in the airstrike on the Gaza Strip despite having coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Israel is in contact with the governments of the people who were killed and will do everything so that such an incident does not happen again, Netanyahu said.

The WCK employees were travelling in a deconflicted zone in two armoured cars branded with the WCK logo, the US-based aid organization set up by US-Spanish restaurateur José Andrés said in a statement.

Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, WCK said.

"This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable," WCK chief executive Erin Gore said.

WCK had immediately paused its operations in the region and a decision about its future would be made soon, Gore said.

"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.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said he was outraged. "All this talk about ceasefires, and still this war steals the best of us," he said in a post on X.

The presidents of the European Commission and the European Council also condemned the killings. "I pay homage to the [WCK] aid workers who lost their lives in Gaza," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, said on X: "It’s long time overdue to stop the slaughter of innocent civilians and humanitarian workers. There should be an investigation and the perpetrators held accountable."

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell also decried the attack.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was “shocked and saddened,” adding, “clearly there are questions that need to be answered,” according to the Press Association (PA) news agency.

Madrid and Warsaw also demanded an explanation from Israel.

The mayor of Przemyśl, the home city of the dead Polish man said: "There are no words to describe the feelings of people who knew this amazing young man right now."

Egypt also condemned the killings, demanding an investigation to hold Israel responsible.

Jordan's King Abdullah offered his condolences to WCK and Andrés for "the tragic death of their team members while delivering urgent food aid to Gazans."

The United Arab Emirates also condemned in the strongest terms "the Israeli occupation forces targeting of the World Central Kitchen team – the UAE’s partner in the Amalthea Initiative to strengthen the humanitarian response to civilians in northern Gaza."

The IDF will conduct a thorough investigation "at the highest levels" into the deaths, spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari has pledged.

"We are a professional military committed to international law. We are committed to examining our operations thoroughly and transparently," Hagari said in a video message in English posted on X.

He paid tribute to WCK, noting that it had been one of the first organizations to assist Israel following the October 7 attacks mounted from the Gaza Strip. "The work of WCK is critical," he said. "They fulfil a vital mission of bringing food to people in need."

The war in Gaza was triggered by the unprecedented massacre of more than 1,200 people killed by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement and other extremist groups on October 7.

Israel's overwhelming response is garnering growing criticism given the soaring number of civilian casualties and catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

World Central Kitchen has been providing meals to people in disaster areas around the world since it was founded in 2010 in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.