The IDF took full responsibility for the incident. IDF spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari, spoke with @WCKitchen founder, @chefjoseandres, and expressed the IDF’s deepest condolences to the entire World Central Kitchen family.

The presidents of the European Commission and the European Council on Tuesday condemned the killing of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) employees in a suspected Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

The World Central Kitchen NGO said that members of its staff were killed in a strike on their vehicles in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. According to the organization, the strike occurred after the aid workers had assisted in delivering food and other supplies to northern Gaza that had arrived hours earlier by ship from Cyprus.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that an unintentional IDF strike killed the seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip the previous night.

“Unfortunately, in the last day there was a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” the premier said in a video message announcing his release from Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem following successful hernia surgery.

“It happens in war, we are thoroughly investigating it, we are in contact with the governments and we will do everything so that this thing does not happen again,” Netanyahu said.

“I pay homage to the World Central Kitchen aid workers who lost their lives in Gaza,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said on the X platform. She said that WCK “is a crucial partner in alleviating the suffering of the people of Gaza, including by channelling food via the Maritime Corridor. My deepest condolences to their families and friends.”

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, said on X: “It’s long time overdue to stop the slaughter of innocent civilians and humanitarian workers. There should be an investigation and the perpetrators held accountable.”

The European Commission’s official X account posted: “We are mourning with the families and friends of the [WCK] humanitarian aid workers who lost their lives in Gaza. Humanitarian aid workers must always be protected, in line with international humanitarian law. We call for a thorough investigation into this tragedy.”

In a post on X, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said: “I condemn the attack and urge an investigation.’’ “Despite all the demands to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, we see new innocent casualties.”

The IDF took full responsibility for the incident.

IDF spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari, spoke with @WCKitchen founder, @chefjoseandres, and expressed the IDF’s deepest condolences to the entire World Central Kitchen family.

“As a professional military committed to international law, we are committed to examining our operations thoroughly and transparently,” he continued, reiterating an earlier IDF statement that the incident is under review “at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of what happened and how it happened.

“We will be opening a probe to examine this serious incident further. This will help us reduce the risk of such an event occurring again,” he said, explaining further that the investigation will be conducted by the Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism, an independent body of professionals and experts.

Following an operational assessment on Tuesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instructed the IDF to establish a team of professionals to investigate the circumstances of the incident; open a joint situation room to coordinate with aid organizations; support distribution mechanisms by allocating resources; and brief international partners regarding the details of the incident and actions being taken.

OC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman was due to present to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi the findings of an initial investigation into the incident.

Preliminary information indicates that a remotely-operated air force craft attacked three vehicles of the aid organization, according to Ynet.

Halevi will also update the head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Michael Kurilla, on the strike.

The initial probe will be released to the public in the coming days, while the more in-depth investigation continues.