The UK’s foreign secretary has called Gaza the “most dangerous place in the world” for aid workers as one year passed since seven humanitarians were killed by an Israeli airstrike targeting their clearly marked vehicle convoy in Gaza.
Speaking at the House of Commons, David Lammy said he pressed Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to conclude the investigation into the strike that killed the World Central Kitchen staffers.
The minister also said he reassured the families of the victims that the UK government would continue to support their calls for justice.
“Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world to be an aid worker,” Lammy said, adding that over 400 aid workers have been killed by Israel since October 2023.
“We need to see lasting safety improvements for aid workers on the ground, and that would be a fitting legacy for those British individuals who have lost their lives.”
Out of the seven that were killed, three were British nationals, one was Australian, one was Polish, and the others were a US-Canadian dual national and a Palestinian.
Calls for an investigation
The family of James Kirby, one of the British nationals killed, are renewing their calls for an independent investigation into the attack, saying that they feel ignored by the UK Government.
The Kirby family have also slammed the government for refusing to release information gathered about the attack by a Royal Air Force spy plane.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence told The Times it had footage from the drone that was flying over Gaza at the time but refused to release it, citing national security and defence concerns.
The Israeli embassy said the strike was “a serious failure…made due to a mistaken identification as well as errors in decision-making”.
An internal investigation by the Israeli army in 2024 claimed a drone operator targeted the convoy by mistake, believing it to have been taken over by “Hamas gunmen”.
The army dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others.
Speaking to The Times one year later, the family said the investigation was a “whitewash”, critiquing claims there was no audio available from the drone footage and expressing frustration that they had not not receiving any contact or condolences from the Israeli authorities.
The attack sparked widespread condemnation, with widespread calls for an end to arms exports to Israel, as well as an end to Israel’s brutal war on Gaza which has killed over 50,000 people and utterly devastated the territory.
