RAFAH, Gaza Strip â The bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in Israeli airstrikes began the journey back to their home countries Wednesday.
This development comes as more questions swirled over Israelâs explanation that a âmisidentificationâ led to the attack on their convoy.
The deadly strikes renewed criticism of Israelâs conduct in the nearly six-month-old war with Hamas and highlighted the risks that the militaryâs bombardment poses to aid workers as they try to deliver food to the besieged enclave. The United Nations said nearly a third of the Gaza population is on the brink of starvation.
READ: âSeveralâ aid workers killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, says NGO leader
The three British citizens, a Polish citizen, an Australian, and a Canadian American dual citizen worked for World Central Kitchen, an international charity founded by celebrity chef JosĂŠ AndrĂŠs. Their Palestinian driver was also killed, and his remains were handed over to his family for burial in Gaza.
The other bodies were driven into Egypt through the Rafah crossing, according to the Palestinian Crossings Authority, which oversees border crossings.
The seven were distributing food that had been brought into Gaza through a newly established maritime corridor when Israeli airstrikes targeted their three vehicles late Monday, killing everyone inside.
Israelâs military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, announced the results of a preliminary investigation.
âIt was a mistake that followed a misidentification â at night during a war in very complex conditions. It shouldnât have happened.â He gave no further details. He said an independent body would complete a âthorough investigationâ in the coming days.
AndrĂŠs said the strikes âwere not just some unfortunate mistake in the fog of war.â
âIt was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known byâ the Israeli military, AndrĂŠs wrote in an op-ed published Wednesday by Israelâs Yediot Ahronot newspaper. âIt was also the direct result of (the Israeli) governmentâs policy to squeeze humanitarian aid to desperate levels.â
READ: Aid group halts food delivery in Gaza after Israeli strike kills 7 workers
World Central Kitchen said it had coordinated its movements with the military, and the vehicles were marked with the organizationâs logo.
Andres, a Spanish-American chef whose organization has provided aid in war and disaster zones all over the world, including to Israelis after Hamasâ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, wrote that âthe Israeli government needs to open land routes to food and medicine today. It needs to stop killing civilians and aid workers today.â
Spainâs prime minister, Pedreo Sanchez, said Israelâs explanation so far was âabsolutely unacceptable and insufficientâ and called for âmuch more detailed clarification of what happened.â He spoke at a joint news conference in Doha with his Qatari counterpart. Qatar has played a key role in efforts to mediate a cease-fire, along with the United States and Egypt.
Some of Israelâs closest allies condemned the deaths, which led the World Central Kitchen and other charities to suspend food deliveries, citing the dire security situation.
Israeli officials have not elaborated on the nature of the mistake.