Israel's highest-ranking officer makes grovelling apology for 'grave mistake' after his forces killed seven aid workers including three British veterans by bombing charity cars: Calls for 'war crime' probe grow - as all victims are pictured

IDF issues grovelling apology for deaths of aid workers on food convoy

Israeli Defence Forces chief Herzi Halevi has expressed remorse over the killings, which he says…

Mail Online

By NATASHA ANDERSON and JASON GROVES and ANDY JEHRING and MARK NICOL

Israel‘s highest-ranking officer has apologised for making a ‘grave mistake’ after his forces killed seven aid workers by bombing a clearly marked food convoy in Gaza.

Former Royal Marines James Henderson and John Chapman and an ex-soldier named last night as James Kirby were among the victims of the ‘outrageous’ drone strike that has triggered worldwide condemnation.

The team, which was providing security for the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity, were hit on Monday as they moved food from a warehouse to distribute to Gaza’s starving population.

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) chief Herzi Halevi has now expressed remorse over the killings, which he says were the result of a ‘misidentification’ in complex conditions. He gave no further details.

Lt. Gen. Halevi admitted the bombing ‘shouldn’t have happened’ and said an independent body would conduct a ‘thorough investigation’ that would be completed in the coming days.

Aid agencies accused Israel of deliberately targeting their staff, while experts, including the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterror, have warned the killing of WCK workers could be a war crime.

Israel’s highest-ranking officer chief Herzi Halevi (pictured in a video posted to X early this morning) has apologised for making a ‘grave mistake’ after his forces killed seven aid workers by bombing a clearly marked food convoy in Gaza

James Henderson, 33, (pictured) was a former special forces operator and a member of the Royal Marines for six years, was killed in the bombing. He had been providing security for the World Central Kitchen charity in Gaza

John Chapman, 57, (pictured) is also thought to have served in the Special Boat Squadron, part of the UK’s Special Forces. He had only been in Gaza for a ‘matter of weeks’ when he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Monday

An ex-soldier named last night as James Kirby (pictured) was also among the victims of the ‘outrageous’ drone strike that has triggered worldwide condemnation

‘This incident was a grave mistake,’ Lt. Gen. Halevi said in a video message posted on X early Wednesday morning, as he announced the results of IDF’s ‘preliminary debrief’ into the killings…