Wiped out in 4 minutes

As Israel apologises and sacks two officers over drone attack that shocked world, how aid convoy was mercilessly obliterated

ISRAEL has admitted it killed seven aid workers in four minutes after apparently mistaking a bag for a gun and launching three missile strikes.

Relatives slammed the findings as evidence of an ‘assassination’, as loved ones and politicians demanded the killers face criminal charges.

The IDF yesterday sacked two officers and formally reprimanded three members of its top brass, following the publishing of its investigation into the drone attack and an admission that it should ‘not have occurred’.

A preliminary report detailed the ‘serious failure’ which left three British veterans among the dead shortly before midnight on Monday.

Former SBS hero John Chapman, 57, ex-Royal Marine James Henderson, 33, and former Rifleman James Kirby, 47, died providing security for aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK).

An IDF account claimed drone operators thought Hamas had hijacked a convoy taking 300 tons of food from a ship

‘It’s clear they were targeted’

to a hangar. It said grainy aerial footage made them suspect a terrorist had climbed on top of one of the eight trucks as it headed to the hangar at 10.30pm.

They then wrongly identified a ‘gunman’ among three trucks that subsequently left the aid point and ordered a missile strike from a Hermes 450 drone.

Over four minutes it took out each vehicle one by one, in three separate strikes that left all seven workers for WCK dead by 11.13pm.

A spokesman admitted it was ‘a mistake’ to identify a firearm in the vehicles, saying: ‘It wasn’t a gun. It was maybe a bag.’

A former SAS soldier who was friends with Mr Chapman has dismissed the IDF report as ‘lies’ and called for those responsible to face criminal charges. ‘They should be in court,’ the special forces veteran said.

‘It’s a complete breach of the Geneva Convention and the laws of engagement.’

The Britons were killed alongside four aid workers: Australian Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom, 43, Polish national Damian Sobol, 35, dual US-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger, 33, and Palestinian Saif Al-Din Abu Taha, 25.

Mr Abu Taha’s brother AbdulRaziq, 33, told the Mail: ‘The car Saif was in was the last one that was hit. He was one of the last ones to die. I can’t imagine the pain he was going through. They were trying to find safety. It’s clear they were targeted, that it was an assassination.’

Abdul-Raziq said he was frantically trying to call his brother at the time. ‘A stranger picked up. He said the phone had flown from the car about 200 metres away and that all the people in the car

all died. I just wish I was there so I could help him.’

The report said a colonel and a major will be dismissed. The brigade commander, 162nd Division commander, and commander of the Southern Command will also be reprimanded.

The WCK welcomed the disciplinary proceedings, but a spokesman warned: ‘Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families.’ Israel has

faced international condemnation following the strike, with Poland demanding a ‘criminal inquiry’ and Lord Cameron calling for a ‘wholly independent review’ to ensure ‘transparency’.

Tory MP Alicia Kearns yesterday told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she believes ‘we have no choice but to suspend arms sales’ to Israel. The pressure saw Israel finally open temporary aid corridors into Gaza at the Ashdod port and Erez crossing.