US approved sending more bombs to Israel the day strikes killed 7 aid workers
The US government approved thousands more bombs to be sent Israel on the same day an Israeli airstrike killed one of its citizens.
The team of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers, including three Brits and one US citizen, were driving along the Gazan coast after unloading aid when they came under fire.
More than 1,000 MK82 500-pound bombs, over 1,000 small-diameter bombs, and fuses for MK80 bombs will soon be transferred to Israeli Defence Forces, the Washington Post reported.
Just two days ago, President Joe Biden released a statement sharing his ‘heartbreak and outrage’ over the deaths of the aid workers.
He said: ‘The investigation must be swift, it must bring accountability, and its findings must be made public…
‘Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians.’
Dual US-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger was in the convoy and died after the strike. He leaves behind partner Sandy Leclerc and a baby boy.
His father John last heard from him on Easter Sunday.
John told the Washington Post: ‘He was a good man. He was doing what he loved and just wanted to serve and help others.
‘Women and children are starving to death, it’s all over the news every day. He felt he could make a small difference.’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and top military officers have taken some responsibility for the attack, saying they are investigating.
‘Israel has admitted to the killings but called it “a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants,” and something that “happens in war,” WCK said in a statement.
The agreement of arms transfer was made before the tragic strike which killed the aid workers, a State Department spokesperson said.
The British government has also sold weapons and military components worth more than £570million to Israel since 2008.
Defence minister Grant Shapps previously said in November that the UK exported roughly £42million of defence aid in 2022.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said of the aid workers: ‘They have to be protected. We shouldn’t have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at grave risk.’
The killed humanitarian aid workers also included a Palestinian, an Australian, and a Polish man.
The WCK says each respective government must join them in demanding a ‘third-party investigation… including whether they were carried out intentionally or otherwise violated international law’.
WCK added: ‘Yesterday, to ensure the integrity of the investigation, we asked the Israeli government to immediately preserve all documents, communications, video and/or audio recordings, and any other materials potentially relevant to the April 1 strikes.
‘An independent investigation is the only way to determine the truth of what happened, ensure transparency and accountability for those responsible, and prevent future attacks on humanitarian aid workers.’
Concerns Israel may have broken international law are shared by three former Supreme Court judges who joined more than 600 lawyers and academics in writing to prime minister Rishi Sunak.
In a 17-page letter dated yesterday, the legal experts say that given the International Court of Justice’s opinion that there is a plausible risk of genocide, the UK is legally obliged to prevent this from continuing.
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