The Israeli Army announced this Friday the dismissal of two officers and reprimands for three othersamong them the chief of operations for the Southern Command, in relation to the attack against the convoy of the humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen which cost the lives of seven of its members. Likewise, it concludes that the attack on the humanitarian convoy of the NGO of the Spanish chef José Andrés was due to a mistake” to the believe that two armed Hamas militiamen were traveling in itaccording to the Israeli Army’s investigation.

The investigation concluded that Israeli forces identified two “gunmen” on aid trucks as the convoy headed to a warehouse in Deir al Balah, and when the vehicles left the site after unloading, “one of the commanders mistakenly assumed that the gunmen were inside the vehicles and that they were Hamas terrorists.”

This is the fundamental conclusion of the independent investigation commissioned by the Army to the Fact Investigation and Assessment Mechanism (FFAM), a body led by Major General Yoav Har Even, in charge of offering as much information as possible to decide whether to open an investigation. criminal about combat incidents.

The findings of the investigation were presented yesterday to the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Herzi Haleviand made public this Friday, when briefings were also held with ambassadors and diplomatic corps. “The forces did not identify the vehicles in question as being associated with WCK. Following a misidentification by the forces, they attacked the three WCK vehicles based on the misclassification of the event and the misidentification that the vehicles had Hamas operatives in them. its interior,” the investigation indicates.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) concludes that both those dismissed and those reprimanded “They mishandled critical information” and Vthey violated the rules of engagement“marked by the Israeli Army. The conclusions indicate that “the incident could have been avoided” and that “those who approved the attack were convinced that they were attacking armed operatives” of the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Be that as it may, the Army indicates that “the damage to aid vehicles It is a serious mistake“derived from a “serious” chain of failures, the result of “a mistaken identification”, an “error in decision-making” and an “attack contrary to orders” to open fire.

The convoy was perfectly identified

The attack against the humanitarian convoy of the American NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK), founded by the Spanish chef José Andrés, claimed the lives of seven of its employees: the Palestinian Saifeddin Ayad Abutaha, the Australian Lalzawmi Frankcom, the Polish Damian Soból, the Canadian-American Jacob Flickinger and the British John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby. Although he was perfectly identified, the WCK convoy was hit by three missiles fired by a drone, which was “a serious violation of orders and standard operating procedures of the Israel Defense Forces,” he concluded.

“The findings of the investigation indicate that the incident should not have occurred. Those who approved the attack were convinced that its target were armed Hamas agents and not WCK employees,” said the FFAM, which also noted “errors in decision-making.” decisions.” After analyzing the conclusions of the report, the Chief of the General Staff, Herzi Halevi, adopted the following measures: dismiss the brigade fire support commander, an officer with the rank of major; and to the head of the brigade, a colonel in the reserve; in addition to reprimanding the commanders of both the brigade and the 162nd division, which operates in the center of the Strip.

Furthermore, Halevi”rwill formally learn” to the head of the Southern Command, for “his overall responsibility for the incident. “We take seriously the serious incident that claimed the lives of seven innocent aid workers. “We express our deep sorrow for the loss and send our condolences to the families and the WCK organization,” he said.