Bristol court may involve Israeli military — The National
A coroner’s court in Bristol, United Kingdom, may involve representatives of the Israeli military and Colonel Nochi Mendel in the investigation into the deaths of three British World Central Kitchen workers in the Gaza Strip. They were killed on April 1, 2024, in a strike on a convoy of the humanitarian organization.
John Chapman, James “Jim” Henderson and James Kirby were among seven World Central Kitchen workers killed after a convoy of three vehicles was struck. All three had previously served in the United Kingdom’s Armed Forces and worked for Solace Global, a security company from Poole, Dorset.
Status of participants in the investigation
As The National reports, Senior Coroner Maria Voisin set out the scope of the investigation, the list of witnesses and the materials that may be used as evidence at a hearing. Counsel to the inquest Alison Hewitt said applications had been received to grant interested person status to the Israeli military and Colonel Mendel. Such status grants the right to participate in the proceedings.
According to Hewitt, the case materials acknowledge that the deaths resulted from strikes ordered by the Israeli military or persons acting on its behalf. She noted that, according to the parties’ claims, Colonel Mendel may have ordered the strikes.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Families’ demands and the government’s position
James Henderson’s family hopes that the investigation will establish whether British intelligence data or military equipment of British origin was used during the attack. The UK Ministry of Defence had previously refused to provide video footage recorded by Royal Air Force surveillance aircraft over Gaza on the day of the strike, despite requests from the families.
Last week, British government official Uma Kumaran told Parliament that rumours about the use of such data or equipment were untrue, and that ensuring accountability was Israel’s responsibility. At the same time, Conservative MP Alicia Kearns called on the government to provide the coroner with unredacted drone footage and announce the date when the investigation would resume.
The Israeli military apologized for the deaths of the aid workers, but said in August that it would not open criminal proceedings against servicemen involved in the strike. The Israeli military claimed that it attacked the convoy because it believed Hamas had taken control of it. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband called the attack “cold-blooded murder” and said the closure of the investigation was outrageous. In a joint statement, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada said they would continue seeking answers and accountability for those responsible.
