White House Has ‘No Plans’ to Investigate Israeli Strike That Killed American

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby takes questions during the daily press briefing at the White House on April 2, 2024. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

The Biden administration has no plans to investigate an Israeli strike in Gaza that killed seven humanitarian workers, including an American citizen, according to the White House.

The White House does not intend to independently investigate or verify Israel’s inquiry into its operations, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

“I’m not prepared at this point to speculate about anything we might or might not do,” Mr. Kirby told reporters on April 3.

“We have no plans to conduct a separate investigation.”

The Israeli strike on April 1 killed seven aid workers who were distributing food for World Central Kitchen (WCK), an international charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under fire from the international community since the earliest days of the war for his apparent disregard for civilian casualties in Gaza, which Israeli and Palestinian sources both estimate make up approximately two-thirds of those killed.

Mr. Netanyahu said the Israeli attack on the humanitarian convoy was tragic and unintended and that the Israeli military pledged an independent inquiry.

Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi said an initial inquiry into the strike found that it was the result of a “misidentification” of the target.

“I want to be very clear,” Mr. Halevi said. “The strike was not carried out with the intention of harming the WCK aid workers.”

Pictures of the strike’s aftermath show that the SUV carrying the workers was clearly marked as a humanitarian vehicle and bore the name of the aid organization on the roof so that drones could identify it.

President Joe Biden said at the time that he was “outraged” by the killing and that Israel’s targeting of civilians was “not a stand-alone incident.”

“This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,” President Biden said in a statement at the time.

“The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to deconflict their military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations, in order to avoid civilian casualties.”

Yet Mr. Kirby said the Biden administration had full faith that Israel’s investigation into the matter was sufficient and did not mention any consequences for the killing of American citizen Jacob Flickinger.

“We do expect that they will do a thorough job, a swift job, and that they’ll be transparent about what they find,” Mr. Kirby said.

“We need to see what they find as a result of this incident. They have already admitted that they conducted the strike, they have already publicly said that they’re at fault for this strike, and they’re working their way through the specific findings and details.”

The incident has further strained an already weakened relationship between the United States and Israel, as the Biden administration attempts to convince Mr. Netanyahu not to follow through on a planned invasion of Rafah, where more than 1 million Gazan civilians have been forced to relocate by the Israeli advance.

Another critical point of disagreement has been Israel’s continued prohibition on foreign journalists entering Gaza and its refusal to allow more humanitarian aid, including food and water, into the area.

That policy has led to a food crisis and left thousands of Gazans on the brink of starvation.

The Biden administration has begun construction of a pier in Gaza to facilitate the delivery of aid to the people there since Israel will not allow more aid trucks to cross into the territory.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has nevertheless vowed that Israel would continue its “conquest” and “subdue the entire territory” of Gaza.

To that end, Mr. Kirby said the Biden administration remained committed to encouraging Israel to take a less reckless stance but clarified that the White House has no plans to limit its arms sales to Israel.

“We are still supporting Israel’s ability to defend itself against this still viable threat,” he said.

“Of course, we want to see them do things differently to prevent civilian casualties. Absolutely. And that’s been an ongoing conversation that we’ve been having with them for many months.

“In terms of being more precise, being more targeted, being more cautious.”