Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed an Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza on Tuesday.
Netanyahu called the event “tragic” in his statement, delivered just moments after he was discharged from the hospital following hernia surgery.
“Unfortunately, on the last day, there was a tragic event of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said. “This happens in war; we are checking thoroughly, we are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything to prevent this from happening again.”
Netanyahu also gave an update on his health, thanking the doctors who performed the surgery at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed an Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza on Tuesday. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
“I would like to thank Professor Pikarsky and the wonderful medical staff of the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, who performed a successful hernia operation on me. I would also like to thank you, the multitudes of citizens of Israel, for sending your wishes for recovery. I’m recovering. Thank you,” Netanyahu said.
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The seven aid workers were in Gaza as part of a relief effort with World Central Kitchen, an international aid group founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres. The humanitarian organization has been working to distribute food and other aid in Gaza.
People inspect the site where World Central Kitchen workers were killed in the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, April 2. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)
WCK says the convoy was struck soon after leaving a warehouse being used to store aid supplies.
“Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route,” WCK said in a statement.
“World Central Kitchen is pausing our operations immediately in the region. We will be making decisions about the future of our work soon,” the group said.
The Israeli military has taken responsibility for the strike and announced an investigation into what went wrong.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz also addressed the incident in a statement posted on X.
“I send my condolences to the countries and families of the @WCKitchen aid organization workers who were killed in Gaza. The IDF and decision-makers are doing and will do everything to prevent harm to civilians,” Katz said. “The incident will be investigated by qualified authorities to ensure that necessary conclusions are drawn to guarantee the safety and security of aid workers going forward.”
Australian World Central Kitchen aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom, left, was among the WCK employees killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to Reuters. (Reuters/World Central Kitchen)
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World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore described the incident as “not only an attack against WCK,” but an “attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war” and that it is “unforgivable.”
WCK has not revealed the identities of the slain aid workers.
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report
