Jose Andres says aid workers ‘systematically TARGETED’ in fatal strike

The White House on Wednesday refused to say if Israel would face any consequences from its chief ally the U.S. amid fury over the strike that took out an aid convoy and killed seven relief workers from World Central Kitchen. Andres in a new interview said the IDF targeted aid workers ‘systematically, car by car.’

Chef Andres (pictured) said the IDF knew his aid workers’ movements in advance of their ill-fated trip inside Gaza. This was not a ‘bad luck situation where, ‘oops,’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,’ he said. ‘This was over a 1.5, 1.8 kilometers, with a very defined humanitarian convoy that had signs in the top, in the roof, a very colorful logo that we are obviously very proud of,’ he said. It’s ‘very clear who we are and what we do.’

‘Even if we were not in coordination with the (Israel Defense Forces), no democratic country and no military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians,’ he told Reuters after penning an op-ed where he declared ‘food is not a weapon of war.’

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to reveal any consequences for Israel, who relies on the U.S. for an annual $3.3 billion in military aid. ‘We’ve had we’re having conversations with Israel. We’ve been very clear about that. Those conversations have been tough. We’ve been very public about those conversations on this particular incident. There will be an investigation,’ she said, pointing to an internal Israeli probe that the administration called for.

‘The president has said he wants it to be swift, he wants it to be comprehensive, and he is there to seek accountability, to bring account for account, right? To bring accountability. She referred repeatedly to Biden’s strongly worded written statement Tuesday, although Biden did not speak publicly about the region during health care themed remarks at the White House Wednesday. ‘And you heard from the President last night in his statement, he is he’s outraged he is hearbroken. We’re all heartbroken here, those seven lives,’ she said.

Biden’s statement, to which Jean-Pierre referred repeatedly, said: ‘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. 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.’

Asked earlier why the U.S. shouldn’t conclude it was a deliberate strike, national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday, ‘As I said yesterday, they’re investigating it and we have every expectation – we do expect that they will do a thorough job, a swift job, and that they’ll be transparent about what they find,’ he said.

IDF chief Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi apologized Wednesday for the strike, which he called a ‘misidentification.’ ‘I want to be very clear—the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers. It was a mistake that followed a misidentification at night during a war in very complex conditions. It shouldn’t have happened.’

Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau was among those criticizing the White House’s public response. The President doesn’t get credit for being ‘privately enraged’ when he still refuses to use leverage to stop the IDF from killing and starving innocent people. These stories only make him look weak,’ he posted. Pictured: Undated handout photos issued by World Central Kitchen of (left to right) Britons John Chapman, James “Jim” Henderson and James Kirby, three of the World Central Kitchen seven aid workers who were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza.

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