‘Unforgivable': IDF opens

probe after seven aid workers

killed in central Gaza
An independent fact-finding body in Israel is investigating the
incident, IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, TZVI JOFFREAPRIL 2, 2024 01:50 Updated: APRIL 3,
2024 10:48

A Palestinian inspects near a vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen
(WCK), including foreigners, were killed in an Israeli airstrike (photo credit: Ahmed
Zakot/Reuters)

The IDF opened an investigation after seven international aid workers from the
World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization were killed in an airstrike in the
Deir al-Balah area of the Gaza Strip, early Tuesday morning.
According to Palestinian reports, the IDF struck a civilian car the aid workers
were in on a road near the beach. Airstrikes were also reported by Palestinian
media in a separate part of Deir al-Balah at around the same time.

IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari spoke with WCK founder Chef
Jose Anders on Tuesday, expressing his condolences to the families of the
victims and the organization.

"As a professional military committed to international law, we are committed to

examining our operations thoroughly and transparently," said Hagari. "We also
express sincere sorrow to our allied nations who have been doing and continue
to do so much to assist those in need."

Hagari stressed that the IDF is reviewing the incident "at the highest levels" to
understand what happened. "We will be opening a probe to examine this serious
incident further. This will help us reduce the risk of such an event from
occurring again."

The IDF spokesperson added that the incident would be investigated in the Fact-
Finding and Assessment Mechanism: an independent, professional, and expert
body.

"For the last few months, the IDF has been working closely with the World
Central Kitchen to assist them in fulfilling their noble mission of helping bring
food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza," said Hagari. "WCK also came
to help Israelis after the massacre of October 7th; they were one of the first
NGOs here. The work of WCK is critical; they are on the frontlines of humanity.
We will get to the bottom of this and we will share our findings transparently."

Responses to the strike

The WCK, which provides food in disaster areas, confirmed that seven of its
workers were killed in an IDF strike in Gaza on Tuesday, adding that it was
pausing operations in the region "immediately."

"We will be making decisions about the future of our work soon," added the
organization. The seven killed in the strike include Australian, Polish, and
British citizens, as well as a dual citizen of the US and Canada, and a
Palestinian.

The team hit in the strike was "traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored
cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle," according to the
WCK.
The organization added that they had coordinated their movements with the IDF
and that the convoy was hit after leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, shortly
after unloading over 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza
through the maritime route from Cyprus.

“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian

organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used
as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said World Central Kitchen CEO
Erin Gore.

“I am heartbroken and appalled that we—World Central Kitchen and the

world—lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The
love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that
humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will
forever be remembered and cherished,” said the CEO.

A new page on WCK's website to honor the "heroes of World Central Kitchen"
was made on April 3rd. The page states, "Their smiles, laughter, and voices are
forever embedded in our memories ... We are reeling from our loss. the world's
loss." The page also provides the names of the seven workers: Gaza-born
Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, Lalzawmi Frankcom from Australia, Damian
Sobol from Poland, Jacob Flickinger from the USA and Canada, John Chapman
from the UK, James Henderson from the UK, and James Kirby from the UK.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Australian citizen

Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom was one of the aid workers killed in the incident.
Albanese demanded "full accountability," saying, "This is a tragedy that should
never have occurred," according to Australian media.

"The truth is that this is beyond any reasonable circumstances that someone
going about providing aid and humanitarian assistance should lose their life and
there were four aid workers as well as a Palestinian driver in this vehicle," added
Albanese.
A view of the vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen (WCK), including
foreigners, were killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to the NGO, amid the ongoing conflict
between Israel and Hamas, in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza, Strip April 2, 2024. (credit:
Ahmed Zakot/Reuters)

Netanyahu laments Israel's 'unintended' killing of aid

workers in Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday lamented the killing in an
Israeli strike of seven people working for the World Central Kitchen aid group
in Gaza, describing the incident as tragic and unintended.

"This happens in wartime. We are thoroughly looking into it, are in contact with
the governments (of the foreigners among the dead), and will do everything to
ensure it does not happen again," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Information about Jerusalem Post.

News reports such as the one you just read don’t just report the news; they also
reflect the opinions of the journalists behind them and the media outlet which
publishes them. Jerusalem Post is in fact a right-wing newspaper and is privately
owned and controlled by the Israeli businessman Eli Azur. Israel has freedom of
speech and freedom of press, but that doesn’t mean that what Jerusalem Post
publishes is honest.
Questions.

The day before the previous article was published by Jerusalem Post, the Israeli
left-wing newspaper Haaretz published a news report on the same topic. Here's
the headline which Haaretz used:

Israeli Army Sources: Gaza Aid Workers Killed

Because 'IDF Officers on the Ground Do What
They Want'

Please compare this headline from Haaretz with the headline from Jerusalem
Post.

1) How does the right-wing newspaper Jerusalem Post depict the Israeli
Defense Forces (IDF) in its headline?

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2) How does the left-wing newspaper Haaretz depict the IDF in its headline?

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Grammar is more important than you think! In English, we can use active and
passive voice in interesting ways. Look at the following examples:

Active voice: John ate a burger.

Passive voice: A burger was eaten by John.

We can even remove “John” from the sentence while using passive voice and
thereby remove him as an agent in the event:

Passive voice: A burger was eaten by John.

This same trick may be done with more serious topics. Compare the following
examples:

Active voice: Hamas attacked Israel.

Passive voice: Israel was attacked by Hamas.

Passive voice: Israel was attacked.

In the final example, you can see that blame is entirely removed from Hamas.

3) Look at the first page of the report by Jerusalem Post. Please explain how
active and passive voice are manipulated to depict the IDF positively.

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As a rule in journalism, external sources, such as witnesses, are used for a
number of reasons. Two important reasons may include:

i) To back up the claims made by the article.

ii) To cast doubt on the source.

If a journalist if uncertain about certain details, they will often quote someone
else as having made the claim, so that they don’t have to take the blame when
it turns out to be untrue. Readers tend to understand this subconsciously,
sometimes quoting sources may make you doubt the veracity (truthfulness) of
their statement. Think carefully now.

4) Whose version of events may this journalist want to discredit in the article
and why?

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5) Please explain the subtle technique which they use to discredit this source.

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6) Pay attention to what the IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari is quoted as saying.
He obviously knows that the IDF made a mistake, but what does he mostly
speak about?

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The order in which different voices in an article are reported is important. In the
article by Jerusalem Post, external sources are reported in the following order:

i) IDF spokesperson
ii) Palestinian report
iii) IDF spokesperson
iv) World Central Kitchen CEO
v) Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese
vi) Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu

7) Please explain why the different sources are reported in this particular order.

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