The seven help employees had arrived in northern Gaza earlier on Monday to assist ship greater than 100 tons of meals help, in response to World Central Kitchen. Their vans left round 9 p.m. and headed south for the group’s warehouse, in response to the Israeli navy.
Alongside the coastal street, the vans met with vehicles who joined their convoy, in response to the navy. Shortly after, a gunman appeared to fireside a single spherical from the roof of one of many vans, in response to Maj. Gen. Yoav Har-Even, a reserve officer who oversees the navy’s investigations into potential circumstances of wartime misconduct.
The drone operator and his commanding officers have been unaware that the vehicles have been a part of the permitted humanitarian convoy and wrongly assumed they have been carrying armed Palestinians, the Israeli officers stated.
Requested why the troopers have been out of the loop, Basic Har-Even stated that sure officers had not seen the coordination documentation. “No excuses,” Gen. Har-Even stated, describing the communication failure.
After the convoy arrived on the warehouse, Israeli drone footage captured what officers stated have been believed to be extra gunmen on the scene. The Israeli navy screened movies for reporters on the briefing on Thursday. The New York Instances couldn’t independently confirm the navy’s video.
The officers have been satisfied that the scene they’d witnessed resembled what they stated have been earlier makes an attempt by Hamas militants to grab humanitarian help in Gaza, the officers stated. Basem Naim, a Hamas spokesman, denied that Hamas stole help, calling the accusation “Israeli propaganda.”
The vehicles then left the warehouse — three vehicles went south and one went north, the navy officers stated. Earlier than they left, a drone operator noticed what he believed — wrongly, Basic Har-Even stated — was a determine bearing a weapon coming into one of many three southbound vehicles.
Inside 4 minutes, no less than one Israeli drone struck every of the three autos within the convoy as they traveled south one behind the opposite, killing all seven passengers, the Israeli officers stated. Israeli officers fired on the primary automobile with out “sufficient to say it is a respectable goal,” stated Benny Gal, one of many Israeli generals who briefed reporters.
Some help employees within the first automobile struck fled to the following automobile for defense, the officers stated. That automobile was hit, too.
The troopers’ resolution to fireside on the second and third automobile, assuming wrongly that they have been additionally harboring militants, failed to satisfy the Israeli navy’s open-fire protocols, the officers stated. The Israeli navy’s guidelines of engagement are categorized, making it tough to know what the usual for utilizing lethal power was on Monday evening. However Basic Har-Even indicated the assault categorically broke them.
“This was in opposition to the principles of engagement,” he stated.
