Death on the road to Rafah: the night the IDF targeted World Central Kitchen aid workers

Key Points:

• On 1 April 2024, World Central Kitchen (WCK) successfully delivered a large shipment of humanitarian food aid to Gaza via a makeshift jetty amid a six-month-long war and Israeli blockade, marking the second sea shipment since 2007.
• Despite coordination with the Israeli army, delays and communication failures led to confusion, with the IDF's Nahal brigade mistakenly identifying the convoy as hijacked by Hamas due to the presence of armed local guards and misinterpretation of drone footage.
• The convoy reached its destination and unloaded aid without diversion, but shortly after leaving, it was struck by Israeli drone strikes that killed seven WCK workers from multiple countries, based on the flawed assumption that they were mingling with Hamas operatives.
• The Israeli military prosecutor justified the strikes by citing deviation from the approved route and suspicion of Hamas involvement, though an Australian report and WCK sources dispute these claims and highlight failures in military communication and coordination.
• WCK condemned the attacks as unjustified and dangerous to humanitarian workers, calling for an independent investigation and the full release of IDF evidence, while Israeli commanders defended their actions as part of government policy to prevent Hamas from seizing aid.