(NewsInsights.org) – Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bombarded three World Central Kitchen (WCK) vehicles on Monday, April 1, carrying seven aid workers who were providing food relief in Gaza. While Israel’s Netanyahu has blamed the attack on a misidentification and expressed regret for the mistake, other officials in the nation have reminded critics that “in wars, friendly fire happens. Meanwhile, in Congress, Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) laid the blame for the aid worker deaths squarely at the feet of Hamas.
The Congress member holds Hamas accountable because the faction broke the long-standing truce with Israel by launching the unprovoked October 7 attack. Additionally, Moskowitz held Hamas responsible for continuing the conflict by rejecting the February Paris draft of a truce proposal that would have provided a 40-day pause in hostilities and a hostage exchange. The pause would have allowed increased aid to the Gaza Strip and repairs to hospitals and bakeries throughout the region.
Instead, Hamas countered with a proposal for a permanent ceasefire, arguing that Israel and Palestinians could only achieve peace and stability in the region under a permanent ceasefire. Moreover, the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia have coordinated with Hamas and Fatah leaders to structure a proposal for a two-state solution with the offer of normalized relations between Israel and other Arab states to enhance regional stability.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesperson, have both called on the Israeli government to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the WCK incident. Chef José Andrés, leader of the WCK, claimed the IDF targeted the vehicles even though at least one of them displayed the WCK logo on its roof.
The strike on the humanitarian aid workers caused other aid organizations to pause their efforts in Gaza, deepening an already critical situation. WCK supplied more than 300,000 meals daily in concert with UN relief agencies.
Still, Moskowitz and others point out Hamas could mitigate the humanitarian crisis immediately by accepting truce terms.
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