Fifty-six US representatives signed a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to withhold the transfer of arms to Israel until there has been a “full investigation” into the deaths of 7 aid workers who were mistakenly targeted by the IDF.
On April 1, 7 World Central Kitchen employees died after the IDF struck their vehicles believing they were terrorists.
The incident gave rise to global outrage this week. a letter penned by Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) along with 37 members of Congress was signed by an additional 16.
The letter began by expressing “shared concern and outrage about the recent Israeli airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen Aid workers, including an American citizen. ”
The letter continued, “In light of this incident, we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel, and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed.”
“If this strike is found to have violated US or international law, we urge you to continue withholding these transfers until those responsible are held accountable.”
The letter described the humanitarian situation in Gaza and quoted the unverified casualty numbers released by the Hamas Health Ministry of 32,000.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated, ‘This is a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people.’ If it is true, it is a shockingly unacceptable mistake,” the letter continued.
It demanded the Biden Administration’s involvement in an investigation into the matter and that there was a need to “determine how the aid convoy could have been mistakenly targeted despite coordinating their movements with the Israeli military and traveling in clearly marked vehicles.”
The IDF released a statement following the incident that said, “The strikes on the three vehicles were carried out in serious violation of the commands and IDF Standard Operating Procedures.”
The statement continued, “The investigation’s findings indicate that the incident should not have occurred. Those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK employees.”
“The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures,” it concluded.
Following the IDF’s internal investigation, two officers were dismissed and one was severely reprimanded.
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