US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Washington has urged Israel to conduct a swift, thorough and impartial investigation into Monday night’s air strike that killed seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity in Gaza.
"We've spoken directly to the Israeli government about this particular incident. We've urged a swift, a thorough and impartial investigation," Blinken told reporters at a press conference in Paris, according to Reuters, adding that humanitarian workers have to be protected.
"These people are heroes, they run into the fire, not away from it," he said of the NGO workers killed in the strike. "We shouldn't have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at grave risk."
Blinken stopped short of directly condemning the attack, unlike his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne, who spoke alongside Blinken and voiced France's "firm condemnation" of the Israeli air strike.
"Nothing can justify such a tragedy," he said, as quoted by Reuters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the strike earlier on Tuesday, saying, "Unfortunately, in the past day there was a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants in the Gaza Strip. This happens in war."
"We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence," he stressed.
Meanwhile, the British Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) summoned the Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom over the accidental deaths of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) employees in Monday’s strike.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote on social media in response to the incident, "All our thoughts are with the families of those killed in this shocking strike, including three British aid workers."
"Israel must explain how this tragic incident happened and take immediate steps to protect aid workers and facilitate vital humanitarian operations in Gaza," Sunak said.