'A mistaken identification': Israel publishes the findings of its investigation into the involuntary attack on aid workers in Gaza

Israel published the results of the investigation into the unintentional bombing carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against a convoy of humanitarian workers from the non-profit organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza. Seven aid workers died in the tragic event (three British, one Polish, one Palestinian, one Australian and one American-Canadian).

The conclusions of the exhaustive investigation were presented on Thursday by Herzi Halevi, head of the IDF.

According to the IDF, the tragic event that occurred on April 1, 2024 occurred as a result of an identification error by the Israeli army. “The investigation found that the forces identified a gunman on one of the aid trucks, following which they identified an additional gunman. After the vehicles left the warehouse where the aid had been unloaded, one of the commanders mistakenly assumed that the gunmen were located inside the accompanying vehicles and that these were Hamas terrorists,” the IDF said.

The IDF acknowledged that they "did not identify the vehicles in question as being associated with WCK,” which is why, “following a misidentification by the forces, the forces targeted the three WCK vehicles based on the misclassification of the event and misidentification of the vehicles as having Hamas operatives inside them,” causing the death of “seven innocent humanitarian aid workers.”

The IDF assured that the attacks against the three vehicles constituted a “serious violation of the commands and IDF Standard Operating Procedures” of the Israeli Army.

In the statement, the IDF described the event as “a serious failure due to a mistaken identification,” for which they indicated that the head of the IDF will take forceful measures against those involved in the tragic event.

The IDF reported that “the brigade fire support commander, an officer with the rank of major, will be dismissed from his position. The brigade chief of staff, an officer with the rank of colonel in reserve, will be dismissed from his position. Additionally, the brigade commander and the 162nd Division commander will be formally reprimanded."

In addition, "the IDF Chief of Staff decided to formally reprimand the commander of the Southern Command for his overall responsibility for the incident."

The IDF stated that it “takes seriously the grave incident that claimed the lives of seven innocent humanitarian aid workers." And they added: “We express our deep sorrow for the loss and send our condolences to the families and the WCK organization. We consider the vital humanitarian activity of international aid organizations to be of utmost importance, and we will continue to work to coordinate and assist their activities, while ensuring their safety and safeguarding their lives.”

“The IDF once again emphasizes its commitment to fighting against the Hamas terrorist organization, while upholding the values of the IDF, the laws of war, and avoiding harming civilians,” they added in the statement. And they concluded that "the IDF will learn the lessons of the incident and will incorporate them into the IDF's ongoing operations."

Netanyahu: 'Israel regrets the tragic incident'

Before the results of the investigation were made public, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “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 was “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, spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), had also spoken out after the tragic event and before the conclusions of the investigation were published. Hagari maintained that the incident was going to be investigated "at the highest levels" through "an independent, professional and expert body" and praised the work of the WCK organization in the conflict, highlighting that it was one of the first to come to the aid of the victims of Oct. 7 and recalled that its members work alongside the Israeli military.