Hagari: IDF has expressed ‘sincere sorrow’ to World Central Kitchen and our allies, will conduct transparent probe

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari delivers a press briefing following a deadly strike on World Central Kitchen volunteers in the Gaza Strip overnight, April 2, 2024. (Screenshot)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari delivers a press briefing following a deadly strike on World Central Kitchen volunteers in the Gaza Strip overnight, April 2, 2024. (Screenshot)

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in an English-language video statement says he spoke to the founder of World Central Kitchen to express his condolences following last night’s strike in the Gaza Strip that killed seven members of the aid organization.

“Last night, an incident took place in Gaza that resulted in the tragic death of World Central Kitchen employees as they fulfilled their vital mission of bringing food to people in need,” Hagari says.

“As a professional military committed to international law, we are committed to examining our operations thoroughly and transparently,” he continues.

“I just spoke to WCK founder Chef Jose Anders, and expressed the deepest condolences of the Israel Defense Forces to the families and the entire World Central Kitchen family,” he says.

Hagari says the IDF has expressed “sincere sorrow to our allied nations who have been doing and continue to do so much to assist those in need.”

“We have been reviewing the incident at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of what happened and how it happened,” he says.

Hagari says the IDF’s General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism — an independent military body responsible for investigating unusual incidents amid the war — will probe what he called a “serious incident.”

“This will help us reduce the risk of such an event from occurring again,” he says.

“For the last few months, the IDF has been working closely with the World Central Kitchen to assist them in fulfilling their noble mission of helping bring food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. WCK also came to help Israelis after the massacre of October 7th; they were one of the first NGOs here,” Hagari continues.

“The work of WCK is critical; they are on the frontlines of humanity,” he says.

“We will get to the bottom of this and we will share our findings transparently,” Hagari adds.

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