AGENCIES

US President Joe Biden voiced strong criticism of Israel following a strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, saying it has not done enough to protect such workers.

“Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians,” Biden said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the death on Monday of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers, adding that distributing aid in the Palestinian territory has been difficult “because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians.”

In a strongly worded statement Biden said Israel’s investigation of the strike “must be swift, it must bring accountability, and its findings must be made public.”

Biden and other US officials have expressed growing frustration with Israel as its unrelenting offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip sends civilian deaths soaring.

The seven staffers from the US-based food aid charity were killed when a strike hit their convoy in the Gazan town of Deir al-Balah.

Biden said the death of the aid workers was not a “stand alone incident.” The United Nations says the offensive has left almost 200 aid workers dead, reports AFP.

Ambulances arrived yesterday at Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt carrying

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