Political Disarray Over Reports of Humanitarian Worker Deaths Following Israeli Bombings

US lawmakers are responding to reports that an Israeli airstrike killed several humanitarian aid workers in Gaza earlier this week.

An Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) strike killed seven workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization. 

The IDF has accepted responsibility for the incident and apologized, calling it a “mistake” that “shouldn’t have happened.”

IDF Chief of the General Staff LTG Herzi Halevi announced the results of a preliminary investigation into the bombings via X.

“I want to be very clear—the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers. It was a mistake that followed a misidentification—at night during a war in very complex conditions. It shouldn’t have happened,” said LTG Halevi. 

Halevi explained the IDF has created a new Humanitarian Command Center to improve aid distribution coordination in Gaza. 

“Israel is at a war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza,” assured Halevi. 

President Joe Biden released a statement condemning the bombings and urging Israel to adopt an immediate ceasefire. 

Other members of the political left have similarly pointed to the WCK incident as another reason to justify a ceasefire. 

US Representative Alejandro Frost (D-FL) called the bombings “unconscionable” and renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire. 

Meanwhile, conservative lawmakers have remained silent on the bombings while criticizing President Biden’s upcoming planned meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

US Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) joined Senator Tom Cotton (R- ) and other republican Senators in a letter classifying the meeting as serving to appease Iran and undermining Israeli interests. 

According to the letter, the Iraqi government provides some $3 billion per year to the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces militias, including four U.S.-designated terrorist groups.

“Your appeasement of Iran has endangered American national security and weakened our relationship with our allies,” reads the letter. 

The Biden administration has claimed the meeting will focus on counterterrorism cooperation, Iraqi economic development, energy development, and modernization.