Germany Demands Thorough Investigation After Israel Kills Aid Workers In Gaza

Germany demanded a thorough investigation Tuesday into Israel's killing of seven aid workers who were delivering food to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.

"The Israeli government must investigate this terrible incident quickly and thoroughly," Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X, where she expressed deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims.

"Humanitarian workers must be able to carry out their important work safely - around the world as well as in Gaza. We are calling again on the Israeli government to assure functioning deconfliction measures. Incidents like this cannot be allowed to happen," she wrote.

US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) confirmed earlier that seven of its humanitarian aid workers were killed in Monday's Israeli strike in Gaza. They were nationals of Australia, Poland, the UK and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed some 1,200 people.

More than 32,800 Palestinians have since been killed and 75,300 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which on Thursday asked Tel Aviv to do more to prevent famine in Gaza. -