Washington, DC [US], April 3 : US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he is outraged and heartbroken with the deaths of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza stating that Israel has not done enough to protect the aid workers in the region, White House said in an official statement.
"I am outraged and heartbroken by the deaths of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen, including one American, in Gaza yesterday. They were providing food to hungry civilians in the middle of a war. They were brave and selfless. Their deaths are a tragedy," Biden said.
The US President said that Israel has pledged to conduct a thorough investigation into why the aid workers' vehicles were hit by airstrikes. That investigation must be swift, it must bring accountability, and its findings must be made public."
Biden said that the deaths of aid workers in Gaza have been a challenge in providing humanitarian aid in Gaza, adding that the US has repeatedly urged Israel to deconflict their military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations.
"Even more tragically, this is not a stand-alone incident. This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed. This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult - because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians," Biden said
"Incidents like yesterday's simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians. The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to deconflict their military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations, in order to avoid civilian casualties," he said.
Biden also asserted that the US will continue to press Israel to do more to facilitate aid in the war-torn region and is pushing hard for an immediate ceasefire.
"The United States will continue to do all we can to deliver humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, through all available means. I will continue to press Israel to do more to facilitate that aid. And we are pushing hard for an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal. I have a team in Cairo working on this right now," Biden's statement read.
Earlier reports revealed that seven members of the World Central Kitchen team were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza, prompting the organisation to halt its operations in the region with immediate effect.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed regret over the incident, acknowledging that the military "unintentionally struck innocent people."
The Israel Defence Forces have pledged to conduct an investigation "at the highest levels" in response to the tragic event.
A US-Canadian dual citizen was among the casualties of the strike, confirmed by a US official, adding to the international outcry over the loss of life, according to CNN.
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