Israel ‘to compensate families’

Israel is expected to offer compensation to the families of the aid workers killed in Gaza after completing its investigation into their deaths.

The official report, which could be made public within days, is thought to blame the April 2 deaths of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers – including three Britons, a dual US-Canada national, a Palestinian, an Australian and a Pole – on an intelligence failure, according to a military source.

The report is being conducted by Yoav Har-Even, a retired major-general with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who recently stepped down as chief executive of Rafael, one of Israel’s largest weapons suppliers.

Sources said the report could be available by the end of the week and is likely to be presented to officials representing the countries of the victims.

The bodies of the seven aid workers began the journey back to their home countries yesterday.

If the report concludes, as expected, the deaths were a tragic accident, the bereaved families will be offered compensation by the Israeli government, according to Giora Eiland, a retired IDF major-general.

It comes as Israeli officials are continuing to push back against accusations that the attack on the aid convoy was deliberate. The IDF chief of staff yesterday apologised for the killings, saying it was the result of a “misidentification in complex conditions”.

But military sources told Haaretz newspaper that the deaths were the result of “a lack of discipline on the part of commanders in the field”.

Military sources have claimed they suspected Hamas fighters of being in a vehicle when the food convoy was struck. But reports suggest three separate missiles were fired at the vehicles, killing the aid workers.

In a hint at what might form part of the investigation’s conclusions, a source close to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Thought they’d spotted guys with guns. One car then broke away which they thought was terrorists.”

However, Derek Madsen, of United States aid agency Anera, which has paused its aid operations in Gaza after a member of its own staff was killed last month, said the deaths appeared to be “intentional”.

Yohanan Tzoreff, a former adviser to the Israeli civil administration in Gaza, also said compensation was likely for the deaths of the WCK workers.

“It is highly possible that Israel as a state, not the army, will offer compensation because Israel has to show that was a mistake, and we’re ready to pay the price for it,” he said.

The “longer the war goes on,” he added, “the more mistakes will be made”.

“Nobody in Israel has any intention of killing innocent people – let alone those coming in to provide humanitarian services to civilians.” –