People inspect the site where World Central Kitchen workers were killed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, April 2, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

JERUSALEM – Israel on Tuesday assumed responsibility for the killing of seven workers of international food charity World Central Kitchen during an overnight airstrike in the Gaza Strip and expressed "sincere sorrow".

"I send my condolences to the countries and families of the WCK aid organization workers who were killed in Gaza," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on social media platform X.

"The incident will be investigated by qualified authorities to ensure that necessary conclusions are drawn to guarantee the safety and security of aid workers going forward," he wrote.

We will get to the bottom of this and we will share our findings transparently.

Daniel Hagari, Spokesman, Israel Defense Forces

Daniel Hagari, spokesman for Israel Defense Forces, said in a video statement that he had spoken to WCK founder Jose Andres and expressed the IDF's "deepest condolences" and "sincere sorrow".

Hagari pledged that Israel will carry out a thorough review "at the highest level" to discover the circumstances of the "tragic incident".

"We will get to the bottom of this and we will share our findings transparently," he said.

"The work of WCK is critical; they are on the frontlines of humanity," said Hagari. 

The IDF had been working closely with the aid organization to assist in "fulfilling their noble mission of helping bring food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza", he added. 

According to a statement of the US-based WCK, the seven killed people were staff members from Palestine, Australia, Poland, Britain, and the United States. 

They were killed in a "targeted attack" by the Israeli military, said the statement, urging Israel to stop "this indiscriminate killing" in Gaza.