At least five Palestinians, including three employees of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK), died this Saturday after their vehicle was attacked by an Israeli drone in the town of Khan Younis, south of Gaza; eight months after the Israeli attack which killed seven of its employees in April.
According to what a witness told EFE, while securing the humanitarian aid convoy, bandits tried to seize goods, when an Israeli drone fired on the back of one of the trucks. Then several people came to help and the drones launched another missile against the SUV where the workers were, which bore the logo of the NGO of Spanish leader José Andrés.
Among the deceased employees were the manager of WCK’s eastern Khan Yunis community kitchens, the driver and the evaluation and monitoring manager, according to local sources.
The Israeli army confirmed, a few hours later, that it had attacked a vehicle in which it believed a militiaman was located after receiving “credible” information on its location in real time. “The claim that the terrorist was at the same time a WCK worker is being investigated,” adds the military statement, which adds that the civilian vehicle did not bear any markings and that its movement “was not not coordinated for the transport of aid.
“This crime reveals dangerous aspects and horrible violations linked to the objectives of the war of extermination and is linked to depriving the population of the besieged sector of access to food, water and medicine,” denounced today the Islamic factions of Gaza in a joint statement. . “These repeated crimes targeting humanitarian organizations, relief associations, food preparation and distribution centers and humanitarian convoys are direct messages of threat and terror to all organizations active in humanitarian work” , adds the text.
In April, another Israeli attack killed 7 WCK workers
On April 2, seven other WCK workers were killed in a triple Israeli attack on their humanitarian convoy as they left a warehouse in Deir al Balah, central Gaza, although they had coordinated their movements with the Israeli army.
Three days later, the army said it had made an “error” in believing that two armed Hamas militiamen were traveling in the vehicle. The Palestinian Saifeddin Ayad Abutaha, the Australian Lalzawmi Frankcom, the Pole Damian Soból, the Canadian-American Jacob Flickinger and the British John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby died.
Despite being fully identified, the caravan was hit by three missiles fired by a drone, constituting “a serious violation of the orders and standard operating procedures of the Israel Defense Forces,” the military investigation concluded, which was closed to those responsible.
