Harsh international criticism of Israel
The deaths of foreign aid workers in the Gaza Strip in an Israeli airstrike threaten to further isolate the Jewish state and cause additional tensions with its key ally, the United States. US President Joe Biden on Tuesday evening (local time) made serious accusations against Israel: “Israel has not done enough to protect the aid workers who are trying to provide the civilian population with urgently needed aid.” This is one of the main reasons why distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip is so difficult, Biden lamented in a written statement. Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi described the airstrike that killed several employees of the aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) as a “serious mistake.”
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Israel’s military chief: That shouldn’t have happened
“The attack was not carried out with the intention of harming the WCK helpers. It was an error that followed a misidentification – at night during a war under very complex circumstances. “That should not have happened,” Halevi said in a video statement Wednesday evening. This has been shown by a preliminary investigation. An independent commission will thoroughly investigate the incident and draw a conclusion “in the coming days”. The military will learn from the conclusions “and implement them immediately,” Israel’s chief of staff said, expressing regret.
Biden: This is not an isolated case
“This is not an isolated case,” Biden complained. “This conflict is one of the worst in recent history in terms of the number of aid workers killed.” Israel has also not done enough to protect the civilian population in Gaza. Seven employees of World Central Kitchen were killed in the Israeli airstrike. Israeli President Izchak Herzog apologized to the aid organization’s founder, José Andrés. Herzog wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that he expressed his deep regret over the “tragic loss of the lives of the WCK employees.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in a video message about a “tragic case of an accidental hit by our forces against innocent people in the Gaza Strip.”
“Everyone feels threatened now,” the New York Times quoted Michael Capponi, founder of the aid organization Global Empowerment Mission, as saying on Tuesday (local time). The international community of non-governmental organizations “must be guaranteed that we are safe in our work, which is so important,” Capponi demanded. In view of the death of its employees, the World Central Kitchen organization wants to immediately stop its activities in the region and soon make decisions “about the future of our work”. Israel risks ending up without a partner that can provide and deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the Times of Israel quoted a US government official as saying.
Helper: Nightmare becomes reality
Tess Ingram, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), told the New York Times that she hopes the deaths of the WCK workers “will make the world realize that what happens here doesn’t happen here.” “The news of the attack is horrific – a nightmare come true for us,” Soraya Ali, spokeswoman for the organization Save the Children, told the newspaper. “More than 200 aid workers have died in this conflict, making it one of the worst conflicts for aid workers in recent history,” John Kirby, director of communications for the US National Security Council, said on Tuesday.
US: Israel also responsible for attack in Damascus
According to the US government, Israel is also responsible for the attack on the Iranian embassy complex in the Syrian capital Damascus. Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh made this clear at a news conference in Washington on Tuesday. Singh was asked whether the US was involved in Monday’s airstrike. She replied: “The US did not carry out an attack in Damascus. I would like to refer you to the Israelis to talk to them about their attack.” Asked whether it was the US government’s official assessment that Israel was responsible for the attack, Singh replied affirmatively: “That is our assessment.”
The attack killed two brigade generals and five other members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). The IRGC is Iran’s elite military force and is considered more powerful than Iran’s conventional armed forces. The country strongly condemned the attack and threatened its arch-enemy Israel with retaliation. When asked, an Israeli military spokesman said they do not comment on reports in foreign media. Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis protested again Tuesday night for a fourth day in a row against the government and against an agreement to release hostages still held in Gaza.
Clashes in Israel amid renewed protests
According to Israeli media reports, demonstrators gathered at the parliament building in Jerusalem with torches in hand. They therefore once again called for new elections. The mother of a kidnapped man reportedly accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech of standing in the way of a hostage situation. It was said that there were clashes between police officers and demonstrators during the protests. For weeks, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and the Islamist Hamas to reach a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages kidnapped from Israel for Palestinian prisoners. According to Israeli estimates, nearly a hundred people kidnapped by the Islamist organization are still alive.
Palestinians seek full UN membership
Meanwhile, Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour asked in a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres to reapply to the Security Council in 2011 for full membership of a state of Palestine in the organization. The Palestinian UN mission shared the letter on Tuesday on X. In November 2011, an application for full UN membership to the responsible Security Council failed. The veto from the US and others wanted the Palestinians to make peace with Israel first. In November 2012, the UN granted observer status to the Palestinians, despite US opposition. Of the 193 UN member states, 139 have so far recognized Palestine as an independent state. Germany is not one of them. (sda/dpa/con)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
