EU excoriates Israel for killing food aid workers in Gaza

The deadly Israeli airstrike that killed seven food aid workers in Gaza was “appalling,” two senior EU officials said Wednesday.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces killed the World Central Kitchen workers, but described the strike as unintentional. The charity stressed in a statement that its convoy was hit “despite coordinating movements with the IDF.”

Amid an outpouring of international condemnation for Israel, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič issued a joint statement urging “a swift implementation of the announced commitment by the Israeli authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure accountability for those who are responsible.”

“We recall the Israeli obligation under International Humanitarian Law to protect humanitarian workers at all times,” they added.” A high number of humanitarian workers have lost their lives since the beginning of the war in Gaza.”

More than 200 humanitarian workers have been killed since the start of the war, according to Spanish newspaper El País.

World Central Kitchen, a U.S.-based organization that said it had supplied 42 million meals over 175 days in Gaza, suspended its operations in the region following the strike.

Israel is under growing international pressure over its conduct in Gaza, where more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in ongoing bombardments, according to local authorities. Israel’s military operations began in retaliation for a deadly attack by Hamas militants on its soil on Oct. 7 last year.