Fra telegram:
Below are a few facts from the preliminary investigation of the tragic deaths of the heroic World Central Kitchen aid workers that were killed in Gaza. Also included are a few general facts for context.
1. Hamas routinely steals humanitarian aid to take into terror tunnels or resell.
2. At around 10 p.m. on April 1, eight WCK large, heavy-duty shipping trucks transporting aid in Gaza began heading to a warehouse to deliver the aid.
3. At 10:28, a man climbed on top of one of the trucks and shot his gun into the air. This is a common technique used by the Hamas terrorists to notify each other of their location.
4. As a result of the shots having been fired, IDF tried to call the local WCK workers but there was no answer. IDF then called WCK in Europe and they were also unable to reach the local WCK workers.
5. At 10:46, a second armed man joined the WCK aid convoy.
6. Although it appeared that both armed men traveling with the WCK convoy were dangerous Hamas terrorists, IDF Brig. General Cohen ordered his soldiers not to strike the armed men because they were too close to the WCK workers. Although Brig. Gen. Cohen never approved any strikes that night, he has been censured for not giving standing orders.
7. The WCK heavy-duty trucks transporting aid arrived at the warehouse around the time that the second armed man had joined the convoy. Armed drones were sent to monitor the situation since it appeared that there were terrorists traveling with the WCK convoy and the WCK workers couldn’t be reached to provide status information.
8. At 10:55, 4 pickup trucks left the warehouse. The IDF drone operators did not believe that Brig. General Cohen’s orders continued to apply because they mistakenly thought that all of the WCK workers that had been on the heavy-duty trucks entering the warehouse were still in the warehouse or with the heavy-duty trucks. They knew that WCK had heavy-duty trucks, but they did not realize that these pickup trucks seen leaving the warehouse were part of the WCK unit. These pickup trucks were the type typically used by Hamas.
9. One of the 4 pickup trucks leaving the warehouse turned north, which was not part of the agreed plan for movement of WCK workers.
10. Men exited the pickup truck that had driven north at another warehouse and all of them appeared to be armed Hamas fighters. This raised additional concerns about the other three pickup trucks that left the warehouse at the same time and were driving south.
11. The drone operator observed what appeared to be a gun in the first pickup truck driving south. What was thought to be a gun could have been a bag. (Hindsight is 20-20.)
12. It was pitch black outside and the WCK logos on the pickup trucks were not visible in the drone footage.
13. An IDF colonel and major approved an order to strike the first vehicle traveling south that they believed to be carrying an armed Hamas terrorist. Both of these senior officers have now been fired.
14. At 11:09 p.m., the first vehicle was hit. The people from that vehicle then ran to the second vehicle. After the second vehicle was hit, survivors from the second vehicle ran to the third vehicle. At 11:13 p.m., after the third vehicle was hit, there were no survivors. There had been no formal approval to strike the second or third vehicles, which an IDF general says was a grave mistake and violated IDF protocols.
15. Israel has been transparent, proactive and accepted full responsibility for this tragic error. IDF officers and soldiers have been fired or censured for their role in this catastrophic tragedy. IDF is changing procedures based on lessons learned from this event, such as making sure logos on top of vehicles are visible by thermal cameras used on drones.
16. This event stands in sharp contrast to the 2005 Haditha tragedy in which a group of United States marines shot and killed 24 Iraqi unarmed men, women and children multiple times at close range. Victims included both elderly people and a 1 year old child. The U.S. military initially lied about what had happened. After pressure to do a further investigation, the investigation report concluded that evidence “supports accusations that U.S. marines deliberately shot civilians.” The tragic accident in Gaza involving the WCK heroes is devastating, but the world needs to stop holding Israel to a completely different standard than what is applied to the rest of the world.
Kilder som er linket til som... kilder.
https://news.sky.com/story/amp/grave-mistake-idf-releases-findings-of-what-went-wrong-in-strike-that-killed-aid-workers-13108160
https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-795514
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-dismisses-2-senior-officers-over-deadly-drone-strike-on-gaza-aid-convoy/amp/