Bellingcat report points to intentional killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers by Israel

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - Israeli strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers from US-based food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) "bear hallmarks of a precision strike," fact-checking watchdog Bellingcat said in a report on Tuesday.

Bellingcat's report invalidates an earlier statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claimed that the attack that claimed the lives of the humanitarian workers was "a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip."

"The destroyed vehicles bear the hallmarks of a precision strike, which only the IDF has the capability to conduct in the region," Bellingcat open source analyst and former UK military officer Nick Waters said in a report in reference to the Israeli military, which claimed that it was "conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident."

"Images from the aftermath of the strike show that the WCK vehicles were white and at least one had the WCK logo and name clearly marked on the roof," Waters said in the report.

Through the use of open-source intelligence and by geolocating the vehicles hit by Israel, Bellingcat determined that the Israeli strike was intentional.

"Bellingcat geolocated the vehicles to the outskirts of Deir al-Balah when they were struck — not far from where WCK facilities are based in Deir al-Balah," it said in the report.

The document also provides details on the three WCK vehicles targeted by Israel.

"Images of the aftermath depict three cars which were destroyed by the strike, consistent with the WCK statement that the convoy included two armored cars and a soft skin vehicle," Waters said in the report, adding that the second vehicle, which was "more heavily damaged and suffered fire damage," could be identified about 800 meters (about 2,625 feet) away.

Providing geolocation data for all three cars, the report further added that the last WCK vehicle hit by Israel was identified approximately 1.6 kilometers (about 1 mile) to the southwest of the first vehicle.

"Of the three identified vehicles, this one appears to have suffered the most damage, and may be the 'soft skinned vehicle' mentioned in the WCK statement," Bellingcat said in its report.

In addition to killing some 33,000 people since Oct. 7, the Israel offensive and siege of the strip has been blamed for near-famine conditions among over 2 million Palestinians there, and for attacks killing both aid workers and civilians seeking humanitarian aid.