Wednesday Briefing: Aid Workers Killed in Gaza

The aid workers were traveling in armored vehicles clearly marked with the World Central Kitchen logo.Credit…Ismael Abu Dayyah/Associated Press

Aid workers killed in Gaza

Israeli strikes on an aid convoy run by the charity group World Central Kitchen killed seven of its workers in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized, and said Israel “deeply regrets” the strike. He called it “a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people.”

The workers were traveling in clearly marked vehicles, and World Central Kitchen said it had coordinated its movements with Israel’s military. Israel is investigating the circumstances surrounding the strikes.

The war has been exceptionally dangerous for aid workers — at least 196 have been killed since the war began, according to the U.N. World Central Kitchen, which has become an important player in delivering supplies to an enclave on the edge of famine, has suspended its operations in Gaza. So has another aid agency, American Near East Refugee Aid.

What we know: The aid workers killed included a Palestinian, an Australian, a Pole, three Britons and a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen. The convoy of three vehicles had just left a food warehouse. Videos and photos verified by The Times suggest it was hit multiple times.

Other updates:

• Damascus strike: Israel’s bombing of an Iranian Embassy building in Syria was a major escalation of its shadow war with Iran, our chief diplomatic correspondent writes.

• Al-Shifa: Israel granted our Jerusalem bureau chief a rare visit to the major Gazan hospital.

• The U.S.: Donald Trump’s call for Israel to “finish up” the war, without insisting on freeing hostages first, has alarmed some Republicans and Israelis.