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Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:
The Biden administration’s harsh condemnations of the IDF’s erroneous drone strike on World Central Kitchen (WCK) vehicles on April 1, 2024, which tragically and accidentally killed seven WCK workers, ignored Hamas’ role in the incident and the U.S. armed forces’ own, worse record of numerous tragic accidental killings of civilians. The Biden administration should retract the inappropriately extraordinary harshness of their condemnation of Israel, especially when Israel does more to prevent civilian deaths than any armed forces in history. And they should publicly recognize Hamas’ role in tricking Israel in this situation and acknowledge that accidental and tragic deaths of this nature are not uncommon in the fog of war. America's own record proves that.
Hamas’ Role in the WCK Tragedy: Prior to the IDF strike on the WCK vehicles, Hamas terrorists climbed onto the WCK vehicles, fired in the air to draw IDF fire, and then separated from the WCK vehicles in a hangar. The IDF called the WCK offices nine times to confirm whether the vehicles were WCK or Hamas convoys, but no one answered the telephone. In the darkness, the IDF then tragically misidentified the WCK vehicles as Hamas vehicles. (“6 Months of War: Did Israel Just Lose to Hamas?!,” Caroline Glick, In-Focus, JNS TV, Apr. 8, 2024.) Israel nonetheless immediately apologized profusely and held those who made errors responsible.
The U.S. Armed Forces’ Record of Numerous Tragic Accidental Killings of Civilians: Sadly, in the fog of war, mistakes and accidents happen. The U.S. administration should be the last to harshly condemn Israel for the accidental WCK tragedy, given the U.S. armed forces’ own record of numerous tragic mistaken killings of civilians – including in bombings of wedding parties, children, families, fleeing civilians, shepherds, a trauma hospital, a mosque, etc., etc. – thinking that they were bombing and killing terrorists. Below is a very partial list of a few of these many tragic incidents:
- On July 6, 2008, the U.S. military bombed a bride and her wedding party three times in Haska Meyna, Afghanistan, killing 47 civilians, almost all women and children, and wounding another nine civilians. The U.S. forces thought the wedding procession was a group of terrorists. The U.S. “plane came swooping low over the remote ravine. Below, a bridal party was making its way to the groom's village . . ., to prepare for the celebrations later that day. The first bomb hit a large group of children who had run on ahead of the main [bride’s wedding] procession. It killed most of them instantly. A few minutes later, the [U.S.] plane returned and dropped another bomb, right in the centre of the group. This time the victims were almost all women. Somehow the bride and two girls survived but as they scrambled down the hillside, desperately trying to get away from the plane, a third bomb caught them.” (“I Was Still Holding My Grandson's Hand - the Rest was Gone,” The Guardian, Dec. 15, 2008.)
- There were also previous U.S. bombings of wedding parties and other civilian gatherings. “Stories like this [bombing the wedding party in July 2008] are relatively common in today's Afghanistan. . . . Last month [June 2008,] 27 people were killed when a wedding party was bombed near Kandahar. It was the third wedding party to be hit this year alone. . . . Last year a convoy of U.S. Marines hit by a bomb attack subsequently opened fire in a bazaar killing 16 people.” (Id.) In addition, the report described U.S. killings and bombings of civilian homes based on flimsy, bad intelligence that was not checked.
- These incidents continued. On November 3, 2008, U.S. fighter planes bombed yet another wedding party in Wech Baghtu, Afghanistan, killed 40 civilians (including 23 children and 10 women), wounded another 28 civilians, and destroyed the housing complex where the women and children had gathered to celebrate. (“U.S. Strike Reportedly Kills 40 at Afghanistan Wedding,” Fox News, Nov. 5, 2008.)
- On May 4, 2009, a U.S. B-1 bomber erroneously reportedly killed an estimated (according to the Afghani government) 140 civilians huddling in houses, in what was sometimes referred to as the Granai Massacre. The Pentagon admitted that the U.S. forces failed to follow procedures, including losing contact with the intended target and failing to reconfirm the target after circling around. (“U.S. Failed to Follow Rules in Afghan Bombing: Pentagon,” Sydney Morning Herald, June 9, 2009; “U.S. Military Admits Errors in Air Strikes that Killed Scores of Afghan Civilians,” The Guardian, Jun 3, 2009.)
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