Seven aid workers died when an Israeli airstrike hit their convoy overnight as it left their Deir al-Balah storage warehouse to deliver aid in Gaza. 

World Central Kitchen, a food charity that supports the local community, has said that it has a number of complaints about the food. Coordinated The convoy’s movements in conjunction with the Israel Defense Forces.

In response to this strike, the IDF You can find out more about this by clicking here. The company said that it is “conducting an extensive review at the highest levels in order to understand the circumstances of the tragic incident.” 

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu You can also read about the importance of this in our article Tuesday, two aid workers died in an “unintentional strike.”

The destroyed vehicles are a testament to a precision strike that only the IDF is capable of conducting in the area. Images of the aftermath show that WCK vehicles were all white, and at least one vehicle had the WCK name and logo clearly marked on its roof.

Bellingcat geolocated both vehicles to the outskirts Deir al-Balah at the time of the attack, not too far from WCK. Deir al-Balah, is where they are based.

Geolocation

Images from the aftermath show three cars that were destroyed in the strike. This is consistent with WCK’s statement that the convoy consisted of two armoured vehicles and a soft-skin vehicle. The first vehicle, which is slightly less damaged, can be identified in this image: 31.4118  34.3231.

Around 800 metres away, the second vehicle, which has suffered more severe damage and fire damage, is easily identifiable. 31.4168, 34.3290.

The third vehicle has been identified at 31.4005, 34.3115, approximately 1.6 kilometers to the southwest of first vehicle. This appears to be the vehicle that has suffered the most damage. It could also be the “soft skinned car” mentioned in the WCK’s statement. 

These locations are located approximately 12 km from the Newly built The WCK set up a pier to deliver aid on the outskirts Dier al-Balah where they were based. It is a good way to get started. The basis of the. 

The WCK You can also read about the importance of this in our article“The convoy, which was departing the Deir al-Balah storage facility where the team had deloaded more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid that was brought to Gaza by the maritime route, was hit.” 

Bellingcat geolocated the two vehicles on a highway You can also find out more about the following: by the UN’s OCHA as being an “Accessible Road  for Humanitarian Aid,” while the third was in a field immediately next to this road.

The Munition Signature

The WCK vehicles are a good indicator of a precision strike using inert or low yield missiles, even though it is impossible to confirm without the fragments themselves. 

Images of damaged vehicles at first resemble damage caused by R9X hellfire strikes, but the R9X is a Signet distinctive What is not apparent here? The relatively small holes in the roofs and the fact that the vehicles’ bodies are not fragmented, as well as the intact windows (even if they are almost certainly armoured) in some vehicles, all point towards a low-yielding or inert projectile. 

Two of the vehicles were armored, which may have reduced fragmentation damage. The third vehicle seems to have suffered more damage. However, it still looks more like a conventional munition than a low yield munition.

The IDF does use the R9X. Field weapons They use kinetic energy to create explosive effects, instead of relying solely on explosive effects. During the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis several vehicles The striker appears to have struck Low-yielding munitions have led to unfounded rumors that the IDF is using R9X. 

Strikes with similar Signatures There are also reports of a similar phenomenon in southern Lebanon. 

Precision Weapons

This type of munition must be able track targets in real-time to hit moving objects, such as cars. This accuracy is crucial for missiles like the R9X, which have a low or no yield. It is important to hit moving targets with extreme accuracy. This is because the missile uses the kinetic energy from the body of the munition to kill, instead of metal fragments that are thrown out during the blast as is the case with most conventional munitions.

Some munitions are capable of tracking a target by locking on to the thermal signature, such as the Javelin missile. Some, referred to as “electrooptically guided”, are physically guided to their target by a operator watching a television feed, such the Spike NLOS. However, the most popular method is laser guidance. In this case, a laser beam is directed at a specific target and the missile “ride[s]” along the reflection of the beam until it impacts. 

In order to achieve a laser-guided strike, a platform (such as a UAV) must “illuminate the target” with a Laser while the missiles are launched. Platforms which are involved in this kind of targetting, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and fast jets have advanced sensors and optics. These are capable with extremely high optical magnifying.

At least one vehicle clearly has the World Central Kitchen logo on its roof.  These markings may have been visible when the strike took place, depending on the capabilities of the optical system used to track the vehicle.

The images of the damaged vehicle indicate that low-yield, or inert, munitions were used. 

The IDF has You can find out more about this by clicking here. The company said it was reviewing the strike “at all levels” and added:   

The IDF has made extensive efforts to ensure the safe delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid and has worked closely with WCK to provide food and other humanitarian aid to Gaza’s people.

Jake Godin, Logan Williams and others contributed to the research. This piece is about the savagery of this piece.

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