'They Want Famine': Israeli Strike Against WCK Workers Intended as Message to Deter Aid for Gaza
© AP Photo / Ismael Abu Dayyah
Subscribe
Following a fatal strike on aid workers in Gaza, Biden warned Netanyahu on Thursday that any future support from the US is dependent on the protection of civilians and aid workers in Gaza. It is the first time the US has threatened to pull their support from Israel.
As calls are being made for a thorough investigation into the recent Israeli strikes on the World Central Kitchen's aid convoy, it's unlikely that a rigorous probe will be conducted in the coming weeks and months, an activist told Sputnik,
Seven employees with the World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed on Monday by Israeli airstrikes. Chef José Andrés, the organization’s founder, said his WCK team was deliberately targeted by the Israeli military, adding that his staff were in a deconfliction zone controlled by the Israeli forces and that they had been given prior notice of their presence.
Andrés is calling on Australia, Canada, Poland, the US and the UK, whose citizens were killed in the attack, to join the WCK in demanding an independent third party inquiry into the strikes. Monday’s attack means that at least 196 aid employees have now been killed during the war in Gaza.
Speaking with Sputnik Radio's Political Misfits on Thursday, author and activist Yves Engler noted that the recent strike against the group of humanitarian aid workers was no accident, underscoring that a "proper investigation" into the fatal incident may not ultimately pass muster.
“No, I don't think it's going to be a proper investigation into the matter,” said Engler. “And the idea that we even need investigation—I think it's all pretty straightforward. Israel knowingly killed them because they are trying to send a message that they don't want aid going into Gaza.”
“And, I think there's a small chance that it's actually partly tied to—incredible as it may sound, trying to channel a little bit away from what they did in Syria in terms of blowing up the Iranian embassy,” he continued. “Which I think means very clearly that Israel is looking for a full scale regional war. I think it's almost certain Iran is going to respond, and Israel would prefer to have it obscured that they did this very provocative move.”
Israel earlier bombed a building that was part of the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, Syria, killing seven people in the process. Iran has vowed to retaliate, which has raised the risk of a wider conflict in the region.
Show host Michelle Witte noted that using the strike as a distraction from Israel’s bombing of the embassy proves a big gamble for Israel, as the WCK could be viewed as “an extension of American soft power” seeing as Andrés is part of the State Department’s culinary corps.
But Engler says the probability that the attack on the WCK’s convoy was a mistake is close to “zero.”
“I would say it’s approaching zero that this was a mistake. I mean, these are three different missiles, these are marked cars,” said Engler. “So, this was on purpose and obviously it sends a very big message—they've killed about 170 UN workers already. So, they were pushing that message toward other forces bringing in food. This is upping the ante on that kind of front in a serious way.”
“This is totally speculative on my part, but I think you can combine two things at once—they're really serious about the genocide, they want the famine, they're going to do everything they can to ensure a famine in Gaza, and there's a lot of evidence pointing in that direction,” he continued.
“So, it seems to me that the Israeli government is trying to do everything it can to turn the sort of low mid-level war with Lebanon with Hezbollah into something full fledged and simultaneously draw the US into a war with Iran. I don't see how Iran doesn't respond with a pretty major attack on Israel after that considering the context in Gaza and considering what's going on in Lebanon,” he added.
“Let's not forget [Netanyahu] has a personal self-interest to keep warfare going on as long as possible because when that ends, he will probably get ousted and possibly end up in jail. So, you put that together and, I think the chance that this was an accident is so small that we basically should rule that out and look at other explanations.”
Asked if there will be any “change” after US President Joe Biden speaks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Engler pointed out that US media reported on continued American arms shipments to Israel about the same time the aid convoy was attacked.
“[The Biden administration] seems to be continuing with more weapons. But there's got to be some point in which the Biden administration backs off. There's got to be some threshold,” said Engler. “I think this may have been one step too far. And there's a long history of political forces being drunk on their own power and they get away with it, then they go one step too far and the whole thing comes crashing down on them.”
“Is that where Israel and zionism is at? I don't know, but I think that's certainly possible, and at some point, you think elements in the Biden administration are going to question whether they are going to keep going down this pathway,” he added.
Following condemnation from several of Israel’s allies of the IDF strikes on the WCK convoy, Netanyahu has said Israel “deeply regrets the tragic incident.”
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the Israeli leader that he was “appalled” by the killing of aid workers and urged a “thorough and transparent independent investigation” into the strikes. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also demanded “full accountability” from Israel. Biden has said he was “outraged and heartbroken,” noting that Israel has not done enough to protect civilians in their fight against Hamas.
During a phone call on Thursday with Netanyahu, Biden demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and signaled that any further fatalities of civilians or aid workers would affect the US support of Israel’s military actions.
It is the first time that the US has signaled pulling support from the war which has resulted in the deaths of over 30,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
