ZIONIST APOLOGETICS
Unintentional killings of WCK workers is tragic, but Hamas is still to blame for war - editorial
Yes, these incidents do happen in the less-than-sterile conditions of battle. They have happened to every country that has ever engaged in warfare.
APRIL 4, 2024
A Palestinian inspects near a vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen (WCK), including foreigners, were killed in an Israeli airstrike
(photo credit: Ahmed Zakot/Reuters)
The unintentional killing of seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization in Gaza on Monday was a horrible tragedy.
It is one of the innumerable tragedies of the war in Gaza, a war callously triggered by Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7, its murder of 1,200 people, and its kidnapping of 240 hostages.
The tragedies of this war include the death of dozens of Gazans as they swarmed toward an aid convoy in February, the IDF’s accidental killing of three hostages seeking to escape in December, the friendly fire or military accidents which have led to some 15% of all IDF fatalities in Gaza, and the unintentional killing of Palestinian civilians used by Hamas as human shields – caught in the crossfire of a devastating urban war.
The unintentional killing of seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization in Gaza on Monday was a horrible tragedy.
It is one of the innumerable tragedies of the war in Gaza, a war callously triggered by Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7, its murder of 1,200 people, and its kidnapping of 240 hostages.
The tragedies of this war include the death of dozens of Gazans as they swarmed toward an aid convoy in February, the IDF’s accidental killing of three hostages seeking to escape in December, the friendly fire or military accidents which have led to some 15% of all IDF fatalities in Gaza, and the unintentional killing of Palestinian civilians used by Hamas as human shields – caught in the crossfire of a devastating urban war.
Quickly taking responsibility for the WCK accidental deaths was the correct move
Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi was correct in quickly apologizing for the WCK deaths, labeling the firing at the aid convoy as a grave mistake caused by misidentification, pledging a swift and transparent investigation of what exactly went wrong, and establishing a new Humanitarian Command Center under the IDF’s Southern Command to better coordinate between the work of the various aid organizations inside Gaza and with the IDF.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, too, was correct in saying that the unintentional harming of non-combatants “happens in war,” though – considering the attention this incident has generated around the world – he could have opted for more empathetic terminology
.
World Central Kitchen (WCK) barge loaded with food arrives off the Gaza coast, March 15, 2024 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Yes, these incidents do happen in the less-than-sterile conditions of battle. They have happened to every country that has ever engaged in warfare.
For instance, the US, during its war in Afghanistan in July 2008, accidentally struck a wedding party, believing those in the party to be insurgents. Forty-seven civilians, including the bride, were killed. In November of that year, another strike at a wedding in Afghanistan killed 37.
And these were not isolated incidents. As recently as 2021, a US drone shot and killed 10 civilians in Kabul – an aid worker and seven children– mistakenly believing they were terrorists.
As of May 2003, according to Brown University’s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs, an estimated 432,903 civilians were killed in America’s post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan.
It is with those numbers in mind that US President Joe Biden’s chastising of Israel Tuesday in a White House statement over the WCK killings rings somewhat disingenuous.
“Even more tragically, this is not a stand-alone incident. This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,” Biden said, adding, “Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians.”
As if the US or any other country has in the past – or can in the future – do a better job avoiding civilian casualties under similar conditions.
There are two main problems with Biden’s statement.
The first, as pointed out in a social media post by Jason Greenblatt, a former adviser to then-president Donald Trump on the Middle East, is that “saying that Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers and other civilians is simply untrue and reckless. It gives fuel to those who spread lies about Israel.”
The second is that the president does not once, in his 314-word statement, acknowledge Hamas’ responsibility for the entire situation. It is Hamas who attacked Israel; it is Hamas who is prolonging this war by not releasing the hostages and surrendering. Hamas terrorists are the ones who have both hidden behind and disguised themselves in the past as journalists, ambulance drivers, and humanitarian workers, thereby placing those genuinely acting in those capacities at risk.
All civilian casualties in Gaza, even those mistakenly caused by Israel, need to be laid at Hamas’ doorstep. Had Hamas not attacked on October 7, or had it released the hostages shortly thereafter and surrendered, none of this would be happening.
Israel will investigate and learn the lessons of this tragedy because this is what it does and because this is what is right. It does not need any prodding to do so. What Israel does need, however, is for the international community to rein in its hypocrisy and stop treating battle zones as crime scenes, something it only inexplicably seemingly does when the Jewish state is involved.
Yes, these incidents do happen in the less-than-sterile conditions of battle. They have happened to every country that has ever engaged in warfare.
For instance, the US, during its war in Afghanistan in July 2008, accidentally struck a wedding party, believing those in the party to be insurgents. Forty-seven civilians, including the bride, were killed. In November of that year, another strike at a wedding in Afghanistan killed 37.
And these were not isolated incidents. As recently as 2021, a US drone shot and killed 10 civilians in Kabul – an aid worker and seven children– mistakenly believing they were terrorists.
As of May 2003, according to Brown University’s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs, an estimated 432,903 civilians were killed in America’s post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan.
It is with those numbers in mind that US President Joe Biden’s chastising of Israel Tuesday in a White House statement over the WCK killings rings somewhat disingenuous.
“Even more tragically, this is not a stand-alone incident. This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,” Biden said, adding, “Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians.”
As if the US or any other country has in the past – or can in the future – do a better job avoiding civilian casualties under similar conditions.
There are two main problems with Biden’s statement.
The first, as pointed out in a social media post by Jason Greenblatt, a former adviser to then-president Donald Trump on the Middle East, is that “saying that Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers and other civilians is simply untrue and reckless. It gives fuel to those who spread lies about Israel.”
The second is that the president does not once, in his 314-word statement, acknowledge Hamas’ responsibility for the entire situation. It is Hamas who attacked Israel; it is Hamas who is prolonging this war by not releasing the hostages and surrendering. Hamas terrorists are the ones who have both hidden behind and disguised themselves in the past as journalists, ambulance drivers, and humanitarian workers, thereby placing those genuinely acting in those capacities at risk.
All civilian casualties in Gaza, even those mistakenly caused by Israel, need to be laid at Hamas’ doorstep. Had Hamas not attacked on October 7, or had it released the hostages shortly thereafter and surrendered, none of this would be happening.
Israel will investigate and learn the lessons of this tragedy because this is what it does and because this is what is right. It does not need any prodding to do so. What Israel does need, however, is for the international community to rein in its hypocrisy and stop treating battle zones as crime scenes, something it only inexplicably seemingly does when the Jewish state is involved.
AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YE FREE
Israel targeted WCK aid workers 'systematically, car by car' — Jose Andres
World Central Kitchen founder strongly rejects Israeli and US claims that the strike was not deliberate, saying "This was not just a bad luck situation where 'oops' we dropped the bomb in the wrong place."
REUTERS
World Central Kitchen founder Chef Jose Andres in an online Reuters interview from Eastern Shore, Maryland. Photo: Reuters
Celebrity chef Jose Andres — founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity group — has revealed a chilling account of the Israeli attack that killed seven of his food aid workers in Gaza, saying the assault targeted his team, "systematically, car by car."
Speaking via video to Reuters on Wednesday, Andres said the global charity group that provides meals in the wake of disasters had clear communication with the Israeli military, which he said knew his aid workers' movements.
"This was not just a bad luck situation where 'oops' we dropped the bomb in the wrong place," Andres said.
"This was over a 1.5, 1.8 kilometres, with a very defined humanitarian convoy that had signs in the top, in the roof, a very colourful logo that we are obviously very proud of," he said. It's "very clear who we are and what we do."
Andres said the Israeli military was aware of the convoy's whereabouts. He called for investigations of the incident by the US government and by the home country of every aid worker that was killed.
"They were targeting us in a deconflicting zone, in an area controlled by IDF [Israeli military]. They knowing that it was our teams moving on that road ... with three cars," he said.
The aid workers were killed when their convoy was hit shortly after they oversaw the unloading of 100 tonnes of food brought to Gaza by sea.
'Weapons provided by America ... are killing civilians'
Andres said there may have been more than three strikes against the aid convoy. He rejected Israeli and US assertions that the strike was not deliberate.
"Initially, I would say categorically no," Andres said when asked if he accepted that explanation.
"Even if we were not in coordination with the [Israeli military], no democratic country and no military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians," he added.
Asked for comment on Andres' remarks, an Israeli military spokesperson referred to prior comments by chief of staff Herzi Halevi in which he called the incident a grave mistake and said the attack "was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers."
Andres said he was personally supposed to be there with his team but was not able to go back to Gaza at the time.
The US needs to do more to stop the war, he said . Andres spoke to President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
"The US must do more to tell Prime Minister Netanyahu this war needs to end now," he said. He questioned Biden administration moves to supply aid in Gaza while also arming Israel.
"It's very complicated to understand ... America is going to be sending its Navy and its military to do humanitarian work, but at the same time weapons provided by America ... are killing civilians," he said.
The chef also wondered aloud how Netanyahu could wage a war to save Israeli hostages "when they may be dying under the rubble of the same weapons" that Israel used against Palestinians.
Killed 'car by car'
Andres said his organisation was still studying the safety situation in Gaza as it contemplates starting aid deliveries again.
Australian, British and American citizens were among seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed as it was leaving its Deir al Balah warehouse.
At least 196 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since October, according to the United Nations, and Hamas has previously accused Israel of targeting aid distribution sites.
Andres described how he learned of the attack, saying first his group lost contact with its team in Gaza and did not realise what happened until seeing images of the bodies.
He said that after the Israeli forces attacked the first armoured car, the team was able to escape and move to a second car which was then attacked, forcing them to move to the third car.
The aid workers tried to communicate to make clear who they were, he said, adding Israeli forces knew they were in the area which it controlled.
Then the third car was hit, "and we saw the consequences of that."
World Central Kitchen began last month moving food aid to starving people in northern Gaza via a maritime corridor from Cyprus, in collaboration with Spanish charity Open Arms. The charity coordinated closely with Israel's military, Arab nations, and others, Andres said earlier.
Biden said he was "outraged and heartbroken" by the deaths. But the US sided with Netanyahu's assertion that the strikes were not deliberate.
Founded by Andres, 54, in 2010 after a Haiti earthquake, World Central Kitchen has tried to sidestep red tape around the world to rush aid to disaster-hit areas, including Ukraine.
Andres condemned the war as a whole.
"This it seems is a war against humanity itself. And you can never win that war. Because humanity eventually will always prevail," he said.
Israeli journalist Gideon Levy told the BBC it’s very clear Israel’s attack on clearly marked World Central Kitchen (WCK) vehicles was not a mistake, and an investigation will only conclude the name of the commander who gave the order. ‘How can it be a mistake when the cars are so signed? You saw the photos of the car from the roof. There is a huge sign of the organisation,’ he said. Levy said Israel has continuously targeted journalists, healthcare workers and civilians raising white flags over the course of this war, stating that the targeting of aid workers would be no exception. ‘For me, there's no difference between two weeks of shooting and bombarding Shifa Hospital and this. Same case. And when Al-Shifa was bombed for two weeks, most of the world kept silent,’ he said.
April 4, 2024
World Central Kitchen founder strongly rejects Israeli and US claims that the strike was not deliberate, saying "This was not just a bad luck situation where 'oops' we dropped the bomb in the wrong place."
REUTERS
World Central Kitchen founder Chef Jose Andres in an online Reuters interview from Eastern Shore, Maryland. Photo: Reuters
Celebrity chef Jose Andres — founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity group — has revealed a chilling account of the Israeli attack that killed seven of his food aid workers in Gaza, saying the assault targeted his team, "systematically, car by car."
Speaking via video to Reuters on Wednesday, Andres said the global charity group that provides meals in the wake of disasters had clear communication with the Israeli military, which he said knew his aid workers' movements.
"This was not just a bad luck situation where 'oops' we dropped the bomb in the wrong place," Andres said.
"This was over a 1.5, 1.8 kilometres, with a very defined humanitarian convoy that had signs in the top, in the roof, a very colourful logo that we are obviously very proud of," he said. It's "very clear who we are and what we do."
Andres said the Israeli military was aware of the convoy's whereabouts. He called for investigations of the incident by the US government and by the home country of every aid worker that was killed.
"They were targeting us in a deconflicting zone, in an area controlled by IDF [Israeli military]. They knowing that it was our teams moving on that road ... with three cars," he said.
The aid workers were killed when their convoy was hit shortly after they oversaw the unloading of 100 tonnes of food brought to Gaza by sea.
'Weapons provided by America ... are killing civilians'
Andres said there may have been more than three strikes against the aid convoy. He rejected Israeli and US assertions that the strike was not deliberate.
"Initially, I would say categorically no," Andres said when asked if he accepted that explanation.
"Even if we were not in coordination with the [Israeli military], no democratic country and no military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians," he added.
Asked for comment on Andres' remarks, an Israeli military spokesperson referred to prior comments by chief of staff Herzi Halevi in which he called the incident a grave mistake and said the attack "was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers."
Andres said he was personally supposed to be there with his team but was not able to go back to Gaza at the time.
The US needs to do more to stop the war, he said . Andres spoke to President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
"The US must do more to tell Prime Minister Netanyahu this war needs to end now," he said. He questioned Biden administration moves to supply aid in Gaza while also arming Israel.
"It's very complicated to understand ... America is going to be sending its Navy and its military to do humanitarian work, but at the same time weapons provided by America ... are killing civilians," he said.
The chef also wondered aloud how Netanyahu could wage a war to save Israeli hostages "when they may be dying under the rubble of the same weapons" that Israel used against Palestinians.
Killed 'car by car'
Andres said his organisation was still studying the safety situation in Gaza as it contemplates starting aid deliveries again.
Australian, British and American citizens were among seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed as it was leaving its Deir al Balah warehouse.
At least 196 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since October, according to the United Nations, and Hamas has previously accused Israel of targeting aid distribution sites.
Andres described how he learned of the attack, saying first his group lost contact with its team in Gaza and did not realise what happened until seeing images of the bodies.
He said that after the Israeli forces attacked the first armoured car, the team was able to escape and move to a second car which was then attacked, forcing them to move to the third car.
The aid workers tried to communicate to make clear who they were, he said, adding Israeli forces knew they were in the area which it controlled.
Then the third car was hit, "and we saw the consequences of that."
World Central Kitchen began last month moving food aid to starving people in northern Gaza via a maritime corridor from Cyprus, in collaboration with Spanish charity Open Arms. The charity coordinated closely with Israel's military, Arab nations, and others, Andres said earlier.
Biden said he was "outraged and heartbroken" by the deaths. But the US sided with Netanyahu's assertion that the strikes were not deliberate.
Founded by Andres, 54, in 2010 after a Haiti earthquake, World Central Kitchen has tried to sidestep red tape around the world to rush aid to disaster-hit areas, including Ukraine.
Andres condemned the war as a whole.
"This it seems is a war against humanity itself. And you can never win that war. Because humanity eventually will always prevail," he said.
‘There are almost 100 journalists being killed in this war.
So many medical teams, people with white flags were shot dead.
Why do you think this one is an exception in this war?’
Israeli journalist Gideon Levy told the BBC it’s very clear Israel’s attack on clearly marked World Central Kitchen (WCK) vehicles was not a mistake, and an investigation will only conclude the name of the commander who gave the order. ‘How can it be a mistake when the cars are so signed? You saw the photos of the car from the roof. There is a huge sign of the organisation,’ he said. Levy said Israel has continuously targeted journalists, healthcare workers and civilians raising white flags over the course of this war, stating that the targeting of aid workers would be no exception. ‘For me, there's no difference between two weeks of shooting and bombarding Shifa Hospital and this. Same case. And when Al-Shifa was bombed for two weeks, most of the world kept silent,’ he said.
April 4, 2024
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