Netanyahu says Israeli forces killed World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza
Al JazeeraIsrael has confirmed its forces killed seven people from the World Central Kitchen charity in Gaza as they travelled in a convoy emblazoned with the charity’s logo that had coordinated its movements with the Israeli military. “We were outraged to learn of an IDF strike that killed a number of civilian humanitarian workers yesterday from the World Central Kitchen,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters during a briefing in Washington. Asked whether the US would condemn the Israeli airstrike, Kirby said of his use of the word “outraged”: “I think you can fairly characterise that as condemning the strike itself.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had urged Israel to carry out a swift, thorough and impartial investigation into the attack. Sejourn expressed France’s “firm condemnation” of the Israeli air raid and said “nothing can justify such a tragedy.” Calls for halt to arms shipments Asked whether incidents like the killing of WCK staff gave the US pause in light of its recent approval of a new weapons package worth $2.5bn, Blinken argued Washington had “a longstanding commitment to Israel’s security and to help it ensure its ability to defend itself”. Representative Pramila Jayapal, from the Democratic Party, said it was “the latest horror inflicted by Netanyahu’s air strikes on Gaza” and called for a halt to “US military aid used for indiscriminate killing.” Representative Jim McGovern said in a post on X that “Netanyahu needs to stop bombing civilians, stop restricting aid, and stop weaponizing food.”