Tel Aviv: The Israeli military plans to remove two officers from their posts following the fatal attack on employees of the aid organisation World Central Kitchen in the Gaza Strip. Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi has decided to dismiss a responsible commander and the chief of staff of the responsible brigade, the military announced on Friday. Media reports said other commanders had been given a warning.
An army investigation published on Friday came to the conclusion that the incident on Monday was a "serious failure" on the part of the Israeli forces. They attacked the aid convoy on the suspicion that two armed Hamas members were in a vehicle, according to the investigation.
The Israeli forces did not recognize the vehicles as belonging to the aid organisation, which said they were clearly marked. The attacks on the three vehicles were carried out in "serious violation of the army's orders and standard operating procedures," the investigation's report added. "The results of the investigation indicate that the incident should not have happened."
The incident, which killed seven aid workers including three Britons,led to renewed calls from the West for Israel to take more care with civilian lives in Gaza and even prompted some British lawmakers to demand arms sales to Israel should be suspended.
Meanwhile, Poland said Israel's ambassador had apologised for an Israeli airstrike that killed a Pole and six other aid workers in Gaza, days after the envoy angered the country by blaming "antisemites" for Polish outrage over the attack.
Damian Sobol, a volunteer from southeastern Poland, was among seven people working for celebrity chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen who were killed in the airstrike in central Gaza on Monday, which stirred an international outcry.
"I handed over a note of protest to the ambassador. The ambassador apologised for this event, which has no precedent in the history of the civilised world," Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna told a press conference.
While the briefing was taking place, Israel said an inquiry into the air attack had found serious errors and breaches of procedure by the military, with the upshot that two officers had been fired and senior commanders formally reprimanded. - dpa/AFP
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