Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said that the Israeli military “accidentally” killed the aid workers, calling it a “tragic case” that would be investigated “to the end”.
But he did not apologize for the death.
Media reports indicated the roof of the vehicle bearing the WCK logo had leaked, as did the debris from other vehicles.
The deaths of these aid workers come as relentless Israeli attacks continue to batter the region, leveling critical infrastructure, destroying the health system and pushing more than half the population to the brink of famine.
WASHINGTON CONCERNS
Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the war to crush Hamas despite nightly protests demanding he step down.
He also faced resistance from his loyal ally, the United States.
The White House said in a statement on Monday that it once again expressed concern to Israel about a planned attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is home to 1.5 million people, most of them refugees from the war.
Israel promised to “take these concerns into account”.
The bloodiest Gaza war ever erupted with a Hamas attack on October 7, resulting in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, most of them civilians, according to official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,900 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Palestinian militants also took around 250 people hostage. Israel believes around 130 people are still in Gaza, including 34 people thought to be dead.
The World Bank on Tuesday released an interim assessment that said the war had caused $18.5 billion worth of damage to Gaza’s critical infrastructure.
The amount is equivalent to 97 percent of the combined economic output of the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank in 2022, he said.
“ANGRY AND WORRIED”
Gaza has been blockaded since the start of the war, and the UN has accused Israel of preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid and warned of impending famine.
World Central Kitchen has been working to unload food brought to Gaza by sea from Cyprus.
After the attack, it said it stopped operations in the area.
Cyprus said on Tuesday that the ship Jennifer returned to the Mediterranean island carrying about 240 tons of aid that had not yet been unloaded.
Israel’s military said it was “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances” of the attack that killed the aid workers.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Netanyahu that “he was shocked by the killing of aid workers”, a Downing Street spokesman said in a statement.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he also spoke to Netanyahu by telephone, conveying his “anger and concern” over the death of Australian citizen Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom.
UN Humanitarian Chief Martin Griffiths expressed “outrage” at the deaths, and described the aid workers as “heroes who were killed while trying to feed starving people,” a statement said. And Poland demanded compensation for the families of the slain aid workers, one of them is a Polish citizen.
