World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers killed in Gaza: investigation overwhelms Israel

More than two years after the death of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) humanitarian workers in Gaza, an investigation by Guardian provides new information on the circumstances of their death. On April 1, 2024, the seven members of the NGO were traveling in a clearly identified convoy after delivering food aid. Their movement had been coordinated with the Israeli army. However, three vehicles were successively struck by Israeli drones.

At the time, Israel recognized a “serious error” and blamed individual failures. But according to the investigation of Guardianthe tragedy would also be linked to a much broader practice within the army: considering a person as a potential target simply because they are in the proximity of a man suspected of belonging to an armed group. A logic described as “guilt by association”.

In the case of World Central Kitchen, the presence of armed men near where the aid was unloaded would have been enough to arouse suspicion. However, by the time the WCK vehicles were hit, the aid workers had already moved away from these men. The seven victims were British, Australian, Polish, Palestinian and American-Canadian. Despite the scale of the international scandal, the Israeli military investigation did not result in any criminal proceedings against those responsible for the attack.

This new investigation therefore further weakens the thesis of a simple “accident”. Above all, it poses a much heavier question: how many civilians could have been killed in Gaza on the basis of this same logic of “guilt by association”?