Israel says it kills 5 militants posing as U.S. charity personnel
The military said it confirmed the five were not affiliated with the charity before killing them in an air strike last week while wearing WCK garb and posing a threat to Israeli troops.
"The terrorists deliberately affixed the emblem and wore yellow vests in an attempt to conceal their activity and avoid being targeted, cynically exploiting the status and trust afforded to aid organizations," it said.
WCK said late on Tuesday that it was contacted by Israeli authorities and confirmed the vehicle and people were not linked. "We strongly condemn anyone posing as WCK or other humanitarians as this endangers civilians and aid workers," it said in a statement on X.
In December, WCK fired dozens of Palestinians working for the charity in Gaza, employees told Reuters at the time, after Israel said at least 62 staff were linked to militants.
Israel's military did not give any identities of those killed in last week's incident. The WCK did not give more details or say whether the people targeted had been previously affiliated with the organization.
An Israeli strike in April of last year hit a convoy of three vehicles and killed seven staff of WCK, including foreign aid workers. Israel apologised for what it said was a mistake.
Aid organizations are struggling to meet the needs of Gaza's more than 2 million population after nearly two years of war have devastated the Palestinian enclave, killing tens of thousands of people and causing widespread hunger.
Israel has often said Hamas militants infiltrate aid groups, while humanitarian organizations have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to ease aid restrictions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Israel's finance minister approves settlement to ‘bury the idea of a Palestinian state'
Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved plans overnight for a settlement that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, a move his office said would bury the idea of a Palestinian state. It was not immediately clear if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the plan to revive the long-frozen E1 scheme, which Palestinians and world powers have said would lop the West Bank in two and will likely draw international fury. In a statement headlined "Burying the idea of a Palestinian state," Smotrich's spokesperson said the minister would give a press conference later on Thursday about the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Israel had frozen construction plans there since 2012 because of objections from the United States, European allies and other world powers who considered the project a threat to any future peace deal with the Palestinians. In Gaza On Wednesday Israeli gunfire killed at least 25 people seeking aid in Gaza, health officials and witnesses said, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again called for what he refers to as the voluntary migration of Palestinians from the war-ravaged territory. Witnesses and staff at Nasser and Awda hospitals, which received the bodies, said people were shot on their way to aid distribution sites or while awaiting convoys entering Gaza. Netanyahu wants to realise Donald Trump 's vision of relocating much of Gaza's population of over two million people through what he refers to as "voluntary migration" — and what critics have warned could be ethnic cleansing. "Give them the opportunity to leave! First, from combat zones, and also from the strip if they want," Netanyahu said in an interview aired Tuesday with Israeli TV station i24 to discuss the planned offensive in areas that include Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people shelter. Ceasefire Efforts to revive ceasefire talks have resumed after apparently breaking down last month. Hamas and Egyptian officials met Wednesday in Cairo, according to Hamas official Taher al-Nounou. Israel has no plans to send its negotiating team to talks in Cairo, Netanyahu's office said. Israel's plans to widen its military offensive against Hamas to parts of Gaza it does not yet control have sparked condemnation at home and abroad, and could be intended to raise pressure on Hamas to reach a ceasefire. The militants still hold 50 hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war. Israel believes around 20 are still alive. Families fear a new offensive endangers them.
BreakingNews.ie
9 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
'Burying the idea of Palestinian state': Israeli minister approves settlement in East Jerusalem
Israeli far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich approved plans overnight for a settlement that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, a move his office said would bury the idea of a Palestinian state. It was not immediately clear if prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the plan to revive the long-frozen E1 scheme, which Palestinians and world powers have said would lop the West Bank in two and will likely draw international ire. Advertisement In a statement headlined "Burying the idea of a Palestinian state," Smotrich's spokesperson said the minister would give a press conference later on Thursday about the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Israel had frozen construction plans there since 2012 because of objections from the United States, European allies and other world powers who considered the project a threat to any future peace deal with the Palestinians.
Reuters
9 minutes ago
- Reuters
Russian officials say at least 16 wounded in Ukrainian drone attacks on two cities
MOSCOW, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Ukrainian drones struck two Russian cities on Thursday in attacks that injured at least 16 people, local authorities said, a day before a U.S.-Russia summit on the war in Ukraine. Thirteen people were wounded, two seriously, when a drone struck an apartment building in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, the acting regional governor said. Three civilians were wounded in the city of Belgorod near the border with Ukraine, according to the governor of that region, who posted video appearing to show a drone striking a car in the centre of the city. Separately, the head of Russia's Volgograd region said fallen debris from Ukrainian drones had caused a fire at an oil refinery. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to meet in Alaska on Friday as Trump attempts to bring about an end to the 3-1/2-year war.
