Seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed in Gaza in April 2024 after Israeli officers treated their convoy as a potential target because armed men had briefly been near it, according to interviews with senior Israeli officers involved in or familiar with the incident. The workers were travelling in three clearly marked vehicles after escorting a food-aid delivery.
The Israeli military prosecutor has decided not to pursue criminal proceedings. The decision followed an official account that attributed the deaths to mistakes by several officers, while also blaming the convoy for using armed guards and allegedly deviating from its agreed route.
How the convoy became a target
Reserve Colonel Nochi Mendel, who ordered the strikes, said the aid workers became potential targets after a brief encounter with armed guards assumed to be members of Hamas. That assumption was later shown to be groundless. Mendel described the convoy as having “mixed together” with alleged militants and said the presence of armed men made the entire convoy a target.
The practice, known as haflala, or “incrimination”, gives field commanders discretion to designate people as terrorists, including people considered connected to them by association. Interviews with officers indicate that the practice was often communicated through verbal mission briefings and could be applied when an armed person was seen near aid deliveries.
Why the strikes remain disputed
Several Israeli officers said the convoy was not near Israeli troops and that the strikes were not ordered because it posed an imminent threat to Israeli lives. Instead, they said the operation reflected a mission to prevent Hamas from controlling aid deliveries. An Israeli officer familiar with the case said many officers would have acted similarly under the standing procedures.
Brigadier General Oren Solomon said an initial mistake led officers to conclude that an armed man had entered one of the vehicles, after which the incrimination procedure led to the three missile strikes. A senior officer involved in the initial investigation disputed that reasoning, saying the later strikes were contrary to orders once people emerged without weapons.
What officials and families are seeking
World Central Kitchen said the decision not to pursue criminal proceedings was inconsistent with the full truth. It said the team was unarmed, posed no threat and travelled in vehicles whose identities and movements were known to the Israeli military.
Britain, Australia and Canada condemned the prosecutor’s decision and said they would continue seeking answers. The United Kingdom opened an inquest in 2024 into the deaths of the three British workers—James Kirby, James Henderson and John Chapman—and adjourned it pending the Israeli investigation. The other victims were Saifeddin Abutaha, Zomi Frankcom, Damian Sobol and Jacob Flickinger.
What happens next
The United Kingdom’s inquest remains the confirmed next stage described in the material, following the outcome of the Israeli investigation.
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