Envoys from countries who lost their citizens in IDF attack convene in Warsaw
mz/rl
05.04.2024, 12:43
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a meeting on Friday in Warsaw with ambassadors from countries whose citizens were victims of the attack on the World Central Kitchen’s humanitarian convoy in Gaza.
According to Wroński, “this is not just an event that arouses our indignation and feelings, but it will truly impact the history of armed conflicts on multiple levels.”
“We want to act together, among the countries affected by this tragedy, to prevent similar events from happening again, if possible, worldwide,” he went on to say, stressing that “the voice of many is always better heard than a single voice.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna emphasized that “when it comes to Polish-Israeli relations, they largely depend on the Israeli side today.”
“If Israel, which has received our firm protest note today—but I suspect that similar notes have been or are being received from other countries that suffered casualties in this rocket attack in the Gaza Strip—if Israel’s actions, whether they are just words (...) or they turn into actions, then these relations can gradually improve,” Szejna said. He assessed that for now, these relations “are very difficult.”
The humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen reported on Tuesday that its volunteers were fired upon by the Israeli army while delivering food aid, which had arrived in the Gaza Strip a few hours earlier from Cyprus.
Seven volunteers, including a Polish citizen, were killed in the attack. Among the victims were also citizens of Australia, Great Britain, and those with American-Canadian citizenship. The Ambassador of Israel, Yacov Livne, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.
The Israeli Ambassador apologized for “an incident unprecedented in the history of the civilized world, namely the bombing of a humanitarian convoy heading to the Gaza Strip,” said the deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna.
