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Refining the excuses
Killing of aid workers ‘a terrible chain of errors’: Israeli military
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has issued a statement in which he revealed the results of an investigation into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen staff.
Hagari claimed, without presenting evidence, that “a number of gunmen” came in and out of some of the cars being tracked by the Israeli army, a group that apparently included the World Central Kitchen aid convoy.
“After some of the vehicles split from the others, the forces that were tracking the vehicles that went south did so thinking that these were Hamas vehicles”, he continued.
He later said that the incident was a “tragic mistake” that “could and should have been prevented” and stemmed from “serious operational failures, mistaken classification and identification, errors in decision-making and strikes that were conducted in violation of standard operating procedures”.
He concluded that the Israeli military “takes full responsibility for this regrettable loss of life”.
This admission from the Israeli army appears to confirm an Al Jazeera investigation, which found that the WCK vehicles were targeted deliberately, and not hit by accident.
Colombia files declaration of intervention in the South Africa’s genocide case
The International Court of Justice in the Hague has announced that Colombia has filed a declaration of intervention under Article 63 of the ICJ statute in South Africa’s case against Israel.
In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians after South Africa accused Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.
Colombia is hoping to offer tangible support to the Palestinian cause
In seeking to support South Africa in its ICJ case, Colombia is also sending a message to Israel that it cannot continue with its actions in Gaza. This is not a surprising stance given what we’ve heard from the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who has denounced Israel since the start of the war.
Colombia and Israel have long been both commercial and military partners. But that relationship started to sour since President Petro took office a year and a half ago, and in particular since the start of the war on Gaza.
That’s because Petro has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause. Just last week, Petro threatened to cut all ties with Israel if Israel didn’t comply with the UN Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
He also called on other nations back in February to cut all military purchases from Israel, even against the advice of the highest military commanders here in Colombia, from what we’re being told from sources inside the government.
That’s because Colombia depends on military support from Israel for its internal conflict, but despite all that his support for the Palestinian cause is more important for the country.
Israel gives update on humanitarian aid entry to Gaza
Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) office says that 155 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip today, and that 100 food packages were airdropped over northern Gaza.
Israel touted an announcement today that it would “temporarily” open the Beit Hanoon (Erez) crossing with the Gaza Strip to allow in aid, however, it has not yet done so. North Gaza continues to suffer from acute food scarcity and will soon experience full-scale famine, the UN and major NGOs say.
Opening Erez crossing is ‘not enough’, says expert
Jeremy Konyndyk of Refugees International says that without a ceasefire, it will not be possible to “put together the kind of anti-famine operation that Gaza now requires”.
His comments come after Israel announced that it would open the Beit Hanoon (Erez) crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip “temporarily” to allow in more aid, a measure that he said simply will not be enough to avert disaster.
