Comments made by the IDF Colonel responsible for ordering the drone strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, including one from Penryn, have been released publicly. In an interview conducted by Australia Broadcasting Corporation in 2025, he stated that he did not mean to kill any of the aid workers, but is “not sorry for what he did”.

Last week, Israel decided not to pursue a criminal investigation into the strikes, a decision condemned by the UK Government. This is despite promises of an independent investigation in 2024.

Mendel had signed an open letter in January 2024 calling for the blocking of all humanitarian supplies into Gaza. In the same month, the United Nations declared Gaza “uninhabitable”, with over a quarter of Gazans directly facing famine due to Israel blocking aid organisations from delivering food. The air strike he ordered took place just a week after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take all necessary action to allow “unhindered” aid into Gaza.

On 1st April 2024, the Israeli Defence Forces fired three air strikes on a World Central Kitchen convoy carrying food aid to civilians in Gaza, claiming that a ‘Hamas fighter’ was amongst those present. The convoy had co-ordinated its movements with the IDF prior to departure. According to Human Rights Watch, this was the eighth incident in six months where Israel ordered a strike on aid workers who had liaised with the military to bring aid safely into Gaza.

The strike killed seven aid workers from the nonprofit group World Central Kitchen, including three British nationals. Amongst them was James Henderson, a Penryn local. Following the attack, 700 people gathered in Falmouth to pay their respects.

World Central Kitchen have “strongly condemned” the IDF’s account of the airstrike, and the decision not to proceed with criminal investigations. They stated:

“There has never been any excuse or justification for the attacks, and there is nothing in this account that does so. The decision is inconsistent with the full truth and deeply offensive.
 “At the time of the lethal attacks, the IDF knew that our team in Gaza was unarmed and posing a threat to nobody. It had full visual clarity on our clearly marked humanitarian vehicles during the extended, multiple airstrikes. It knew our team’s movements, identities and activities in advance.
 The military investigation conflates different timelines and events, muddies the story and shifts the blame for the IDF’s illegal conduct.
 
 “We continue to demand truth and justice for our team and their families.
 
 “We continue to demand an independent commission to investigate the airstrikes because the IDF cannot credibly investigate its own conduct.
 
 “And we continue to grieve the loss of our friends.”

Latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry state that the death toll in Gaza since 7th October 2023 is 73,449, with 174,472 injured.

Image via: IDF