Following an Israeli airstrike that resulted in the deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza, 40 Democratic members of the US House of Representatives have published a letter addressed to President Joe Biden, urging him to halt arms trades to Israel. The impacted aid workers were part of World Central Kitchen’s efforts in the region.
Emphasising their collective concern and outrage, the Representatives wrote: “…we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel, and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed. If this strike is found to have violated U.S. or international law, we urge you to continue withholding these transfers until those responsible are held accountable.”
They additionally requested the President to look into how the aid convoy could have been mistakenly targeted despite clear markers on their vehicles and prior coordination of their movements with the Israeli military. These concerns are in context of the recent authorization of arms to Israel, which consisted of bombs and fighter jets.
In March, ahead of the airstrike, Biden signed a bill that perpetuates the US’s annual security commitment of $3.3 billion to Israel via a series of grants, and concurrently banned funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, characterized the attack that led to the deaths of seven humanitarian aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK) as an “unintended strike”. The IDF dismissed two officers following an internal investigation into the incident. This was followed by a call by WCK for an independent investigation into the airstrikes. Australia’s Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, announced the intended appointment of a special advisor to look into the incident and urged Israel to preserve all evidence related to it.
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