Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday acknowledged the death of seven aid workers in a military attack in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking in Hebrew in a video message, he said: “Unfortunately, in the last 24 hours, there has been a tragic incident where our forces have inadvertently hit innocent people in the Gaza Strip.
“It happens in war, we check it to the end, we are in contact with the governments and we will do everything to prevent this from happening again.”
Seven aid workers of the American aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed on Monday in an Israeli attack in the central part of the Gaza Strip.
Six foreigners were among the victims of the attack, which occurred when their convoy was hit as it left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah after delivering more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid, WCK reported earlier.
Netanyahu said the death of the aid workers was an “unintentional killing of the innocent” and would be investigated, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.
“This happens in war, we are investigating it thoroughly, we are in contact with the relevant parties and we will do everything to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again,” Netanyahu added after being released from the hospital where he underwent surgery.
The Israeli military claimed responsibility for the attack on the aid convoy early Tuesday and vowed to launch a thorough investigation into the incident.
The seven humanitarians killed are from Australia, Palestine, Poland, Great Britain, as well as a dual citizen of the USA and Canada.
32,916 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, the Gaza Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday.
Much of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed since genocide-accused Israel launched the war in October last year following a cross-border attack by Hamas. Israeli forces have been recklessly destroying buildings and entire neighborhoods for several months, destroying 60 percent of the Palestinian enclave’s infrastructure.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has indicated additional interim measures, including the “unimpeded provision” of aid to the Gaza Strip, in the ongoing genocide proceedings against Israel at the request of the Republic of South Africa, AA writes.
