JERUSALEM – An Israeli inquiry into the killing of seven aid workers in an air strike in Gaza this week found serious errors and breaches of procedure by the military, with the result that two officers have been dismissed and senior commanders formally reprimanded.

The inquiry found that Israeli forces had mistakenly believed they were attacking Hamas gunmen when drone strikes hit the three vehicles of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid group, and that standard procedures were violated.

“The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making and an attack contrary to the standard operating procedures,” the military said in a statement issued on April 5.

It said it dismissed a brigade chief of staff with the rank of colonel and a brigade fire support officer with the rank of major, and issued formal reprimands to senior officers, including the general at the head of the Southern Command.

The victims – an Australian, Britons, a Canadian-American, a Palestinian and a Pole – were killed in three air strikes over four minutes by an Israeli drone as they ran for their lives between their three vehicles, the military said.

Poland’s Foreign Ministry said it still could not understand how such an incident could have occurred. It demanded a “criminal inquiry” into the incident.

The drone team that killed the aid workers made an “operational misjudgment of the situation” after spotting a suspected Hamas gunman shooting from the top of one of the aid trucks they were escorting, an internal Israeli military inquiry found.

Senior Israeli officers showed reporters clips from drone footage of what they said was a “Hamas operative” joining the WCK convoy.

Although the roofs of the three aid workers’ vehicles were emblazoned with large WCK logos, retired Israeli general Yoav Har-Even, who is leading the investigation, said the drone’s camera could not see them in the dark.

“This was a key factor in the chain of events,” he said.

The aid group has said its team was travelling in a “de-conflicted” area in a convoy of “two armoured cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft-skin vehicle” at the time of the strike.

“Despite coordinating movements with the (Israeli army), the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route,” WCK said.

The army said aid was moved at night to avoid the potential of deadly stampedes by hungry Gazans.

‘Breakdown in communication’

Gen (Ret) Har-Even admitted that “the three air strikes were in violation of standard operating procedures”.

But he argued that “the state of mind” of the Israeli drone commanders “was that they were striking cars that had been seized by Hamas”, after they confused a bag for a gun.

The aid workers were killed after they had overseen the unloading of a ship carrying 300 tonnes of food aid from Cyprus to a warehouse inland.

But as they drove south at 11.09pm on April 1, the drone “struck one car, and identified people running out of the car and entering the second car”, said Gen (Ret) Har-Even.

“They decided to hit it, which was against standard operating procedures. Then, they struck the third car,” he said.

Asked by Agence France-Presse, the former general was not able to explain what happened to the “Hamas gunman”.

“It is a tragedy. It is a serious mistake that we are responsible for,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters. “A mega event... that shouldn’t have happened. We will make sure it won’t happen again.”

Gen (Ret) Har-Even said it was a breakdown in communication and coordination about the convoy in the chain of military command that may have led to the strikes.

He said WCK provided all the information necessary, but it was not passed down.

“The biggest mistake was that (the drone team) didn’t have the coordination plan,” he said. “Their belief was the vehicles were Hamas based on operational misjudgment and misclassification.”

The retired general briefed WCK’s founder, Spanish-born celebrity chef Jose Andres, early on April 5 before information on the circumstances of the strikes were released.

Mr Andres had called the attack a “targeted Israeli strike” on his staff. AFP, REUTERS