The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed after an internal investigation that a group of aid workers in the Gaza Strip were killed in three consecutive air strikes this week.

World Central Kitchen (WCK), which provides food to people in conflict zones, had its fleet hit by an Israeli drone, killing seven of its employees.

According to WCK, the WCK convoy was attacked as it left the Deir al-Balah warehouse in Gaza, where it was unloading 100 tons of food shipped by sea.

The charity said rescuers traveled to the DMZ in two armored vehicles bearing the WCK logo, following a route that had been pre-agreed with the Israel Defense Forces.

Among the dead were three British men, former soldiers James Henderson, John Chapman and James Kirby.

Rishi Sunak, who joined other world leaders in calling for an urgent and thorough investigation into the incident, said he was “appalled” by the incident.

Today, the Israel Defense Forces released the results of their investigation – here’s what it tells us.

Why was the convoy hit?

The Israel Defense Forces said they mistakenly believed two Hamas gunmen were in the convoy and did not identify the vehicles as belonging to the charity.

“Troops discovered one shooter on board one of the rescue trucks, and they later discovered another shooter,” the report said.

“After the vehicle left the warehouse where the aid was being unloaded, a commander mistakenly believed that the gunmen were in the accompanying vehicle and believed that they were Hamas terrorists.”

A map of the attack provided by the IDF claimed that an armed suspect “boarded the convoy” at 10:28 p.m., but gave no further details about who the alleged Hamas operatives were or how they gained access to the convoy. .

The report also states that the IDF “has not confirmed that these vehicles are associated with WCK,” although at least one of the vehicles has WCK branding on the roof.

“Following force misidentification, based on misclassification of the incident and misidentification that the vehicles contained Hamas operatives, forces targeted three WCK vehicles, ultimately resulting in the deaths of seven innocent humanitarian aid workers,” the report states.

It did not specify how or why the misidentification occurred.

How many times were you hit?

The report and accompanying map confirmed that the convoy was attacked three times. The first strike occurred at 11:09 p.m., the second two minutes later and the third at 11:13 p.m.

The report confirmed the previous I Analysis showed that the convoy was attacked at various points along a 1.5-mile stretch of road in the Deir al-Balah area.

On-site photos, geolocation Ishowing three vehicles destroyed by artillery shells.

The distance between the vehicles, the damage sustained by each vehicle and the location of the stop indicated that each vehicle was struck individually.

Photos and videos show all three vehicles were hit directly, including one directly above the passenger seat.

security sources told Israeli newspapers haaretz Survivors of the first attack tried to hide in a second vehicle before it was also hit, and then moved to a third vehicle that was also hit.

Bellingcat, a respected open-source investigative journalism team, also noted that “these vehicles have characteristics of inert or low-yield precision missiles.”

Who authorized the attack?

The report did not reveal who gave the green light for the airstrike or detail the chain of command through which the order went.

However, it revealed that two IDF officers will be fired over the incident and three other officers will be reprimanded for their involvement.

A brigade fire support commander (major) and a brigade chief of staff (reserve colonel) will be relieved of their duties, the report said.

It also said that the commander of the brigade and the 162nd Division, as well as the commander of the IDF Southern Command, who had overall responsibility for the incident, would be formally reprimanded.

Despite the firings, it insisted that “those who approved the attack were convinced that they were targeting Hamas fighters and not WCK employees.”

What is the report’s conclusion?

The IDF report said the attack “should not have happened.”

“The attack on the rescue vehicle was a serious mistake caused by misidentification, poor decision-making and an attack that violated standard operating procedures,” the statement said.

Police said they were “deeply saddened by the loss and extend our condolences to the families and WCK organization.”

“We consider the critical humanitarian activities of international aid organizations to be critical, and we will continue to work to coordinate and assist their activities while ensuring their safety and security.”

Will anything change?

The IDF said it would “learn lessons from this incident and incorporate them into ongoing IDF operations” but gave no details.

The Israeli government has announced it will temporarily reopen the Erez crossing to deliver humanitarian supplies, following pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden and other allies to significantly improve how aid enters Gaza.

What is WCK’s response to this report?

WCK said Israel’s admission of responsibility and “fatal errors” and the disciplinary action taken against some employees were “an important step forward”.

However, it accused the IDF of “deploying lethal force without regard to its own protocols, chain of command and rules of engagement” and said the force had “no reason to fire on our personnel convoy, which was not armed and did not pose a threat” “”.

“Without systemic change, there will be more military defeats, more apologies and more grieving families,” WCK said.

WCK said the “root cause” of the incident was a lack of food in Gaza, which requires WCK’s local presence, and called on Israel to “significantly increase” food and medicine entering Gaza.

It also called for the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the WCK deaths, saying the IDF “cannot credibly investigate its failures in Gaza”.

WCK’s operations in Gaza have yet to resume.