OPINION: The world has heard that seven aid workers employed by the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity were killed in a missile strike by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the victims were "unintentionally harmed". He says that it's a mistake. The facts speak otherwise. These are the facts as reported today in The Times.
"Attacking people or objects involved in humanitarian assistance may amount to a war crime," said UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence. As the High Commissioner has repeatedly stated, impunity must end."
Israel's military has apologised for Monday's strike and called the attack a grave mistake. This wasn't a mistake. This was a deliberate act based on bias. They thought a Hamas terrorist was in the convoy and on the basis of a 'belief' without firm evidence IDF murdered 7 aid workers. They should be tried for murder.
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| The last precision missile strike hit the car through the roof. The remaining survivors where in it and all were killed. They had helped the injured others before the final strike. Image: Getty Images. If there is a problem with copyright please tell me. It is published here under fair use policies. |
It is very hard indeed to believe that this was a mistake.
- The three vehicles were travelling in a convoy along the coast road. The second one was 890 m behind the first and the third was 1560 m behind the second. The three vehicles were struck about a mile and a half apart on this coastal road. The third vehicle was struck last with a missile hit directly through its roof (precision missile strike) which killed all the remaining survivors.
- The vehicles were struck in separate incidents and as stated great distances from each other. This was not a single strike which would make it easier to argue that it was a mistake.
- Further, the WCK said that it's workers had been in a deconflicted zone on a route that had been preapproved by the IDF.
- The IDF had been informed of their movements. The two armoured cars and one other vehicle were branded with the logo of the organisation on the top and sides according to WCK.
- In other words, WCK ticked all the boxes to protect their employees. It appears that nothing was left undone and the IDF knew what was going on.
Mistake? Unintentional?
I read that an Israeli newspaper (Haaretz) state that IDF drone operators were ordered to attack one of the cars with a missile. On the Israeli side, the report is that an armed man was identified in a truck that had accompanied the convoy on its journey and the truck was not with the convoy when it left the warehouse. That appears to be their defence. But perhaps this was part of the accepted plan as one of the cars is said to be 'armed'.
A common sense assessment of what you read in the newspapers on the presumption that what we read is truthful and correct, must come to the conclusion that this was not a mistake. This was a deliberate attack on a charity's convoy which had provided a hundred tons of food to the Gaza Strip earlier.
It's early days. And no doubt more information will come out. There's uproar as you can imagine. WCK have removed themselves from the Gaza Strip at least temporarily and other charities are thinking of doing the same thing.
If you were cynical, as I am, you might think that the IDF deliberately attacked this charity to achieve this exact result; to stop the charities feeding the citizens of Gaza in order to help initiate starvation as a form of warfare. We've been told that a famine is almost on the way in the Gaza Strip because of blockades at the entrances to the area through which provisions are brought in lorries.
I sense that the IDF are using starvation as an act of war. One additional aspect of this conflict. There is no proof to support that statement. I am speculating. It is my opinion. No more and no less. I am entitled to my opinion. But it is based upon a reasonable assessment as stated above.
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