Israeli Defense Forces Kill More Aid Workers, This Time with Baseless Claim They Were Armed Hijackers

On August 29, a convoy coordinated by U.S.-based Anera was struck by an Israeli drone. 4 Palestinians were killed in the targeted strike which blew up the lead vehicle in the string of vehicles which made up the convoy.

Anera, an acronym for the NGO and nonprofit American Near East Refugee Aid, was bringing much needed additional medical supplies and fuel to a hospital run by United Arab Emirates in southern Rafah, near the Gaza border with Egypt. It was carrying out its humanitarian mission in coordination with Move One, a logistics organization with headquarters in Dubai. The convoy was heading towards the Emirati hospital when the drone hit.

The lead vehicle included four local Palestinians onboard who Anera has confirmed were brought on board by the agency to escort it.

In a statement released yesterday, Anera described the four men who were killed by the IDF strike as “four community members with experience in previous missions and engagement in community security with Move One”. An earlier statement from Anera made immediately after the attack had erroneously said the four were Move One employees.

“The four community members were neither vetted nor coordinated in advance, and Israeli authorities allege that the lead car was carrying numerous weapons,” the August 30 statement read. “Every initial report from those at the scene indicate that no weapons were present. The four individuals were not perceived by the convoy as a hostile threat. The Israeli airstrike was carried out without any prior warning or communication.”

“Anera and Move One are in close communication and are working together to determine all the facts,” the statement continued.

“According to all the information we have, this is a case of partners on the ground endeavoring to deliver aid successfully,” said Anera President and CEO Sean Carroll in a quote accompanying the statement. “This should not come at the cost of people’s lives.”

Anera also asserts its mission, what it was carrying, details of all vehicles in the convoy, and when and where the vehicles would be traveling were approved in full in advance by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) representatives. This wss done in complete compliance with rules and regulations the occupying Israeli forces in Gaza have set for allowing such aid to proceed to its destination.

All vehicles in that convoy were also clearly marked as aid vehicles in accordance with the agency and as communicated to the IDF.

In a statement of its own, the IDF asserted that “during the convoy’s movement, a number of armed assailants seized control of the vehicle in the front of the convoy [a Jeep] and began to lead it”.

“After the takeover and further verification that a precise strike on the armed assailants’ vehicle can be carried out, a strike was conducted,” the IDF declaration continued.

“No damage was caused to the other vehicles in the convoy and it reached its destination as planned,” the IDF response went on. “The strike on the armed assailants removed the threat of them seizing control over the humanitarian convoy.”

The IDF concluded its communication by saying it reached out to Anera after the murders and had “verified that all of the convoy’s organization members and humanitarian aid were safe and reached their destination as planned”.

Only a few hours before IDF struck the Anera convoy, Israeli military forces assaulted a World Food Programme (WFP) vehicle with gunfire as it was heading toward a Wadi Gaza stopping point for inspection. The Israeli soldiers fired at least 10 bullets at the car. The WFP car was clearly marked with the insignia of the United Nations, as it was part of an approved UN mission passing through the region.

As in the case of the Anera attack, this vehicle was traveling on a route previously approved with the IDF. Fortunately for the WFP workers, whose vehicle was protected with reinforced glass designed to protect against gunfire and miscellaneous debris, no one was hurt in this other attack.

After questioning by the United States’ UN Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood, Israeli representatives said the shootings on the WFP car was “a result of a communication error” between various parts of its military. The U.S. has apparently accepted that, despite that the attack almost resulted in another string of murders by Israeli forces against those they had previously authorized to enter the region and pass through that route.

The IDF used a similar excuse of having problems with communications within its military when it blew up a vehicle on April 1 operated by the World Central Kitchen (WCK) NGO. As in the case of both the Anera convoy and the WFP shooting, the WCK vehicles were following a path agreed upon in advance with the IDF and with all vehicles labeled so they were visible even from above.

Seven WCK employees were slaughtered in that operation. The murders then caused the WCK to suspend operations in Gaza for some time for safety reasons.

The IDF did acknowledge have committed “grave errors” in the case of the WCK attack but did little more.

While these may be seen as isolated incidents, they happen all the time in Gaza.  And it is clear they are orchestrated by Israel as part of a broader pattern of making the risk for humanitarian agencies to attempt to aid those injured, sick, or in need of food, water, and fuel, so high as to cause them to shut down their operations.

When that happens, Israel gains plausible deniability as having blocked aid coming into Gaza, as directed by the International Court of Justice and several UN Security Council resolutions.