Netanyahu Under Fire From Allies Over Deadly Strike on Gaza Aid Convoy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under pressure from his allies over the Jewish state's airstrike on a convoy of the US-based international volunteer aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza.

In a phone call, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Netanyahu that he was "appalled by the killing of aid workers," urging a "thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened."

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, for his part, said that the bombing was "completely unacceptable," and that "Israel must urgently explain how this happened and make major changes to ensure safety of aid workers on the ground."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese demanded "full accountability" from Israel over the death of Australian aid worker Lalzawmi Frankcom, "a tragedy that should never have occurred."

He was echoed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong who said the death of any aid worker was "outrageous and unacceptable," adding that Canberra was seeking "a thorough and expeditious review" as well as "full accountability for these deaths" from the Israeli government.

Similarly, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for "full accountability and investigation in this [airstrike]," warning that "it is absolutely unacceptable" to attack aid workers.

Trudeau’s Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez said he was appalled by the deaths and called on the Israeli government to “clarify the circumstances of this brutal attack as soon as possible”.

Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna stressed that Israeli authorities "should think about who should be held criminally responsible for pressing a certain button and how to compensate the families of the victims — even if it’s impossible to do so with money."

US President Joe Biden said he was "outraged and heartbroken" by the killing of seven WCK workers. "Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians," he said on Tuesday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in turn, told reporters that American diplomats had already spoken with the Israeli government and urged "a swift, thorough and impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened."

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The comments come as Netanyahu appeared to admit that Israeli forces were to blame, adding that the aid workers were killed by an "unintended strike." Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) chief Herzi Halevi, for his part, acknowledged that the killings of the aid workers were the result of a "misidentification" in complex conditions.

Ben Saul, the UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of human rights while countering terrorism, has since told Al Jazeera that the Israeli airstrike "could well be a violation of international humanitarian law, under which Israel has a duty not to deliberately target humanitarian workers or their convoys or their relief consignments." He insisted that "under international humanitarian law, if there is a deliberate targeting of any civilian, including humanitarian relief workers, that’s a war crime."

On Monday night, seven World Central Kitchen workers attempting to deliver much-needed food to Palestinians were killed in an IDF strike in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Netanyahu Under Pressure From Allies Over Israel's Deadly Strike on Gaza Aid Workers