Israel admits ‘serious failures’ over deadly strike but insists aid workers were mistaken for Hamas: Updates

Biden and Netanyahu spoke on Thursday for first time since deaths of aid workers as pressure mounts on Sunak to withdraw arms sales

Biden told Netanyahu ‘urgent ceasefire essential’, says Blinken

Israel has admitted that “serious failures” were made by its forces after seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers were killed in an airstrike in Gaza.

The IDF announced on Friday that its internal investigation into the incident had concluded.

While admitting that a “grave mistake” was made, the IDF continued to claim innocence over the attack – insisting that the WCK workers were “misidentified” as Hamas militants. Two military officers have been dismissed from their positions following the findings, the IDF said.

More than 220 humanitarian workers have been killed in the conflict, according to the UN. Scott Paul of Oxfam said on Thursday: “The killing of aid workers in Gaza has been systemic.”

The announcement comes hours after Israel agreed to reopen two border crossings into Gaza to increase the flow of humanitarian aid, after President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call that future US support for Israel would be determined by its efforts to protect civilians and aid workers.

Meanwhile, former UK foreign secretary Alan Duncan is being investigated by Tory chiefs after he said pro-Israel “extremists” in the party should be kicked out over their refusal to support international law.

Key points

• Israel admits ‘grave mistake’ after seven aid workers killed in strike in Gaza
• Israel approves opening of two humanitarian routes into Gaza after call with Biden
• Calls grow for Rishi Sunak to stop UK arms trade to Israel
• Alan Duncan faces expulsion from Tory party for attacking ‘pro Israel extremist’ Conservatives
• Former officials speak out against Biden’s Israel support after aid worker killings
• World Central Kitchen calls for independent probe into Israeli air strike

[5 April 2024 08:50 · Rachel Sharp]

NSC responds to steps announced by Israel to increase aid flow to Gaza

The National Security Council has responded to the steps announced by Israel to increase aid flow to Gaza.

Read the statement in full:

We welcome the steps announced by the Israeli government tonight at the President’s request following his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

These steps, including a commitment to open the Ashdod port for the direct delivery of assistance into Gaza, to open the Erez crossing for a new route for assistance to reach north Gaza, and to significantly increase deliveries from Jordan directly into Gaza, must now be fully and rapidly implemented.

As the President said today on the call, U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these and other steps, including steps to protect innocent civilians and the safety of aid workers.

We are prepared to work in full coordination with the Government of Israel, the Governments of Jordan and Egypt, the United Nations, and humanitarian organizations, to ensure that these important steps are implemented and result in a significant increase in humanitarian assistance reaching civilians in dire need throughout Gaza over the coming days and weeks.

[5 April 2024 08:28 · Rachel Sharp]

Israel approves opening of two humanitarian routes into Gaza after call with Biden

Israel has agreed to reopen two border crossings into Gaza after the cabinet approved a series of “immediate steps” amid pressure over the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Strip.

The Erez crossing in northern Gaza will be opened for the first time since the conflict began on 7 October and Ashdod Port will be opened to allow aid shipments, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday.

“This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war,” Mr Netanyahu’s office said.

The decision follows US president Joe Biden’s first phone call to the Israeli prime minister since the drone strike on the vehicles of seven charity workers killed in Gaza.

Read the full story:

[5 April 2024 07:30 · Josh Marcus]

‘No one can change his mind’

Investigations into potential Israeli war crimes and violations of international law are being undermined by President Joe Biden’s insistence on providing his close ally with billions of dollars in unconditional military support, several former State Department and Pentagon officials told The Independent.

Speaking out after the killing of seven international aid workers by Israel in Gaza, among them an American citizen, one former Pentagon attorney said that any US investigations into Israel’s actions were “perfunctory” and “performative” due to pressure from the White House.

The former officials say the president’s decades-long and deeply held personal connection to Israel renders US laws and regulations concerning US arms sales essentially toothless.

“There’s no incentive to investigate if the president and the White House themselves have announced that aid is unconditional,” said Brian Finucane, who worked for a decade in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the State Department advising on arms transfers and the laws of war.

Richard Hall reports.

[5 April 2024 05:45 · Josh Marcus]

ICYMI: World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres says aid workers were ‘systematically’ targeted

World Central Kitchen founder and renowned chef Jose Andres accused Israel of targeting the seven aid workers who were killed by an IDF airstrike in Gaza, “systematically, car by car.”

Mr Andres told Reuters that World Central Kitchen (WCK), a charity that provides food to people in disaster zones including Gaza, was transparent about its movements in the besieged strip.

The seven staff were killed in Gaza in a marked convoy after unloading 100 tonnes of food aid from a barge.

“This was not just a bad luck situation where ‘oops’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,” Mr Andres said. “Even if we were not in coordination with the (Israel Defense Forces), no democratic country and no military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians.”

Kelly Rissman reports.

[5 April 2024 04:15 · Josh Marcus]

What comes next in the World Central Kitchen investigation?

World leaders from multiple nations have called on Israeli officials to investigation the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza in an IDF air strike.

Katie Hawkinson reports on what an investigation could look like.

[5 April 2024 03:00 · Josh Marcus]

ICYMI: Biden warns Netanyahu US support for Gaza war now depends on Israel protecting civilians and aid workers

President Joe Biden told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that future US policy towards Israel will be determined by whether its government takes action to protect aid workers and civilians in Gaza.

The warning came in their first telephone conversation since Israel Defense Force drones fired three missiles into a World Central Kitchen aid convoy.

Andrew Feinberg and Richard Hall report.

[5 April 2024 02:00 · Josh Marcus]

Why The Independent is calling on the US to slow down Israel’s war machine

To dissuade the Israelis from following their current plan, the president will have to use more than words: he must make America’s diplomatic, financial and military support for Israel firmly conditional. American aircraft, tanks and missiles used in combat in Gaza must now have a new fitment – some political strings attached. If they do not, then the flow of American armaments and technology to Israel will have to cease. Indeed, depriving Israel of the weapons of war, and adding to its international isolation, is becoming, sadly, inevitable. If need be – and that seems highly likely – America must stop sending arms to Israel.

Read the full editorial here.

[5 April 2024 01:45 · Josh Marcus]

How many civilians have died in the Israel-Hamas war?

Monday’s deadly IDF strike on a group of aid workers in Gaza is bringing attention to the high civilian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war.

Just how many innocents have been affected?

According to the UN, at least 32,623 Palestinians overall have been killed since the fighting began, with seventy percent of the dead women and children.

Israel, meanwhile, claims that it has killed between 11,500 and 13,000 Palestinian militants since the war began.

During Hamas’s initial 7 October attack on Israel, another roughly 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed.

[5 April 2024 01:30 · Josh Marcus]

Will aid workers be safer with new Israeli tactics

Amid the fallout of a disasterous strike on seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, Israel has promised to adjust its tactics.

To start, Israel says it will establish a joint operational coordination room inside of its Southern Command to work alongside humanitarian agencies and coordinate safe movements.

The country has also said it will release an investigative report on the airstrike to the public, according to Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, who gave a public briefing on Thursday.

“And I believe that, after we present this to the ambassadors from the respective countries, and to the members of the WCK organisation, we will make it public in a clear, transparent manner - and that will happen soon,” he said.

[5 April 2024 01:15 · Josh Marcus]

The DOJ’s divergent approach on war crimes in Ukraine vs Gaza

When Russia invaded Ukraine, the US was quick to assist the Ukrainians in prosecuting war crimes, and in bringing charges itself against four Russian-allied troops in December.

However, Attorney General Merrick Garland has barely spoken in public about potential war crimes in the Israel-Hamas war, despite numerous instances during the conflict that rights group believe have crossed the line.

As NPR notes, Mr Garland has said just 29 words in public about war crimes in the conflict in Gaza.

“Hamas murdered more than 30 Americans and kidnapped more during their terrorist attack on Oct. 7. We are investigating those heinous crimes, and we will hold those people accountable,” he said in December.