World Central Kitchen: Israel does not lie, takes responsibility and investigates

The serious mistake made by Israel in bombing a convoy of the humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza has generated harsh criticism and a demand for explanations from the Jewish state around the world. In the tragic incident, seven aid workers from the aforementioned non-profit died (three British, a Pole, a Palestinian, an Australian and an American-Canadian). Israel recognized the error and opened an investigation to clarify what happened.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Israel deeply regrets the tragic incident which claimed the lives of seven humanitarian aid workers. Our hearts go out to their families and to their home countries.” And he added that the IDF “is conducting a swift and transparent investigation” and promised to publicize the results.

“Israel is fully committed to enabling humanitarian aid to reach the civilian population in Gaza and we will do everything in our power to ensure that such tragedies do not occur in the future,” he maintained.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), noted that what happened will be studied "at the highest levels" through "an independent, professional and expert body" and praised the work of WCK in the conflict, highlighting that it was one of the first organizations to come to the aid of the victims of Oct. 7 and recalled that its members work alongside the Israeli military.

The incident is truly regrettable and tragic, and both the criticism of the government of Israel and the demands for clarification of what happened are absolutely valid. The Israeli authorities must accept the ultimate consequences and do everything possible to ensure that this does not happen again.

Israel vs. Hamas: A war of truth and civility against lies and barbarism

Israel made a grave mistake in its war against Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza following the Oct. 7 massacre. The fighting is not easy, especially considering that terrorists use civilians as human shields to hinder IDF attacks.

This was not the first serious mistake made by Israel. Previously, the IDF killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza after mistaking them for Palestinian terrorists.

Israel has not attempted to lie, cover up or deceive. Immediately after it was confirmed that both cases were errors by the IDF, Israeli authorities acknowledged the facts, apologized and launched investigations.

This attitude of the Israeli authorities contrasts markedly with that of the Hamas terrorist group. The Palestinian Islamist organization does not allow freedom of expression under any circumstances and handles all information that comes from Gaza. However, despite the fact that it is an antisemitic group with genocidal intentions and that also oppresses its own people, there are many media outlets and influencers that immediately publish any false information or fake news that Hamas provides, without checking the reporting for even a second.

This happened, for example, after the bombing of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, when there were many media outlets and influencers who reported at meteoric speed (ergo, without checking anything) that it had been an Israeli attack that caused the death of 500 people. However, none of that was true. In reality, it was a mistake made by Palestinian terrorists, and the toll of victims and damage was much lower than initially reported, which is why some media outlets retracted their stories, although it was already too late. Despite the accusations, Jerusalem decided not to respond immediately after the incident at the hospital so it could seriously investigate the matter. Later, the Jewish state confirmed that it was not involved in the incident and revealed what had really happened.

However, not only Hamas provides false information, but also its faithful representative in the media: Al Jazeera, Qatar's propaganda arm. Recently, the Qatari-funded news network decided to retract and remove a series of stories that accused the Israel Defense Forces of committing sexual abuse at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. The controversy gained wide circulation after Al Jazeera published the testimony of a woman who claimed to have witnessed the rape of Palestinian women inside the Gaza hospital. The Qatari outlet deleted the publication shortly after without adding many more details.

The same anti-Israel media and influencers are the ones that put the magnifying glass on Israel (ignoring any other conflict), distort reality, fabricate and spread false news, etc. But what they also omit is that it is the Jewish state itself is the only democracy in the Middle East, which has its own magnifying glasses placed on all its institutions and thoroughly investigates any irregular situation that happens in the country, including with the IDF. And it does so in an extremely complex context, since it must be constantly dealing with neighbors who want to exterminate it, which makes it impossible not to make mistakes. And rarely have they been as tragic as those suffered by the WCK volunteers or the Israeli hostages.

It is really strange to observe how some of these media outlets and influencers celebrated or ignored the fact that Russian forces tortured ISIS-K terrorists who committed the concert hall massacre in Moscow in March, but often demonize Israel for its way of treating Palestinian terrorists, which is infinitely more humane than Russia's. In fact, it is enough to observe the excellent physical condition in which the Islamists freed by the Jewish state were found in various prisoner exchanges throughout history, as well as the policy implemented by Israel of treating wounded terrorists in their hospitals or even relatives of leaders of groups that call for the extermination of the Jewish state and the Jews, and all paid for by Israeli taxpayers. Now, it is not necessary to clarify what would happen to a citizen of Israel if he crossed into Gaza, right?

That's not all. IDF troops must follow a very strict combat code of conduct that includes consequences for those who violate it. In fact, there have been very controversial cases related to this issue. One of the most notable occurred when a few years ago, a soldier shot a Palestinian who had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack, and then finished him off as the attacker lay wounded on the ground. The soldier defended himself, with good judgment, ensuring that the terrorist was still moving, so he had the possibility of causing damage, either by taking a hidden weapon to open fire on the Israelis, or by activating an explosive attached to his body. A part of Israeli society supported the soldier, although he was also criticized for his actions. A military court found him guilty, for which he was imprisoned, despite protests by a large number of citizens. You know, things that happen in the only democracy in the region.

Ending Hamas is a fundamental step towards peace in the Middle East

Hamas is solely responsible for the war. The ferocious massacre on Oct. 7 perpetrated by terrorists who have no respect for human life and who cry daily for the extermination of an entire people was what led to Israel's response. This Islamist organization, an arm of Iran in the region, can no longer exist if we really want to move towards peace in the Middle East, so to end the war and prevent further bloodshed, the world must demand the release of all hostages, the demilitarization of Gaza and the surrender of Hamas and the rest of the Palestinian terrorist groups.

The well-being of civilians in Gaza and Israel is not solely the responsibility of the Jewish state. The international community must collaborate to end the war, helping to eradicate Hamas and other Islamist groups, in order to distance Iran from the region. The free world must understand that this is the only way to move towards peace, not only between Israelis and Palestinians, since Islamic terrorism is not only a problem for stability in the Middle East, it is also a serious threat to the West.