World
Video: ‘We’re Aware of the Location’: Aid Groups in Gaza Coordinated With I.D.F. but Still Came Under Fire
[MUSIC PLAYING] On April 1, an Israeli drone targeted a convoy of white cars, killing seven World Central Kitchen workers. The group, based in Washington, D.C., had coordinated the convoy’s route with the Israel Defense Forces, or I.D.F. “We were doing the right protocols. We were engaging with the I.D.F. in the way we all should be doing. Like every minute, everybody knew where everybody was.” This process is called deconfliction, a wartime safety system aid groups use around the world to help combatants compile a list of humanitarian locations in order to avoid accidental attacks. – [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] More than 200 aid workers have been killed in the war in Gaza, according to the United Nations. In the case of the World Central Kitchen, or W.C.K., the I.D.F. called the strike a grave mistake that can happen when fighting an enemy that embeds in the civilian population. “The W.C.K. coordinated everything correctly with the I.D.F. in advance. This operational misidentification and misclassification was the result of internal failures.” But these internal failures were not new. Using visual evidence and internal communications obtained by The Times, we examined strikes on six aid group operations that came under Israeli fire despite using the I.D.F.’s deconfliction system. These humanitarian organizations have a direct line to the Israeli military, and come from Western countries, including Israel’s strongest allies. Some of their operations were clearly marked. “Our flag. We identify it.” Or located in a special area Israel says is safe for civilians. It’s not clear whether the I.D.F. failed to alert their targeting teams about the presence of civilians, or if they decided eliminating a target was more important. But the pattern of attacks shows that in Israel’s battle against Hamas, not even the places with every available avenue of protection are safe from I.D.F. strikes. Israel has said that it has deconflicted thousands of humanitarian convoys successfully. In response to questions from The Times, the I.D.F. said it has been targeting military targets in order to dismantle Hamas, but is committed to all international legal obligations, and has put in place detailed regulations for dealing with sensitive sites. Weeks before the World Central Kitchen strike, a logistics coordinator for another American aid group called ANERA returned home after distributing supplies. Mousa Shawa was still wearing his ANERA vest when an Israeli strike hit the house, killing him; his 6-year-old son, Kareem; and several neighbors. – [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] Mousa had worked at ANERA for 13 years and felt grateful to have a job that would keep his family safe, his wife, Dua, told The Times. – [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] ANERA shared emails with The Times showing they’d repeatedly sent the I.D.F. coordinates and photos of their staff shelters, including the two-story residential building where Mousa’s family and others had been living since the war began. Israeli officials confirmed the location was being processed in their system. On March 4, in response to a request from the I.D.F., ANERA sent this email to ensure their warehouses and shelters, including Mousa’s, were still registered in Israel’s deconfliction system. But just four days later, the house was blown apart. Visual evidence shows it was a surgical strike in a dense cluster of houses. All were left essentially untouched, but one, which had only the top floor destroyed. Munitions experts told The Times this kind of targeted damage points to a precision Israeli air-dropped bomb. – [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] In a statement to The Times, the I.D.F. said it targeted a Hamas terrorist who participated in the October 7 attack, and expects military investigators to examine the strike. ANERA said they’ve received, quote, “No information about who or what may have been targeted, or why,” and want an independent investigation into how a location repeatedly deconflicted with the I.D.F. came under attack. Before the strike on Mousa’s house, Doctors Without Borders said two staff shelters registered with Israel’s deconfliction system came under fire without warning or official explanation. “We’ve seen tracers going towards the sea.” At this shelter on January 8, the aid group said a projectile was fired through the building, killing a 5-year-old girl. – [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] Photographs show the remnants of an Israeli tank shell lying outside. In February at a different Doctors Without Borders staff shelter, two family members were killed when incoming fire set off an explosion. Seven others, mostly women and children, were injured. Visuals of the aftermath show a large Doctors Without Borders flag clearly marked the building. The entry point of the munition and the damage left behind suggests a medium- to large-caliber weapon, experts said. According to the aid group, it was an Israeli tank shell. The I.D.F. previously told British broadcaster Sky News they fired because they had identified, quote, “Terror activity at the building.” In a statement to The Times, the I.D.F. denied striking the first shelter on January 8 and said the second incident will be reviewed by military investigators. Doctors Without Borders refuted any allegations of terror activity in their facilities, and said the attacks on civilian spaces show that nowhere in Gaza is safe. What went wrong in the deconfliction system is still not clear to the aid group. “This pattern of attacks is either intentional or indicative of reckless incompetence.” The very same questions would be raised in the British Parliament after another strike, which was examined by The Times. On the morning of January 18, this building was rocked by a giant explosion. A bomb landed on the wall around the compound, which was being used to house medical staff from the International Rescue Committee, based in the U.S., and the U.K. group Medical Aid for Palestinians, whose logo is visible on bedding and luggage in the wreckage. Several people were injured. Six medical workers were withdrawn from Gaza. Text messages between aid staff and an I.D.F. official reviewed by The Times show that a month before the attack, the Israeli military was aware of the compound’s location. When the aid worker asks, “So we can bring them to this chalet? It is still safe?” The I.D.F. response is, “Yes.” The compound had two additional layers of protection. British officials, The Times confirmed, used high-level diplomatic channels to ensure the compound was deconflicted. And it was located in the neighborhood that Israel has repeatedly designated as the humanitarian zone, safe for civilians. In a U.N. report reviewed by The Times, investigators indicated the crater and munition debris most likely point to an MK 83, which is a 1,000-pound bomb made in the U.S. “Strikes still took place. So —” British lawmakers demanded answers. “What investigation is being conducted? What has been the response of the I.D.F. to this? Has H.M.G. seen the targeting permissions for that airstrike?” After weeks of high-level pressure — “It was raised by the foreign secretary in his meetings in Israel last week.” Israel provided six different, and often conflicting, explanations, according to the aid groups. Sometimes Israel said they were “not operating in that area.” Other times, they claimed their bomb was attempting to hit a target adjacent to the compound. They also said what struck the compound wasn’t actually a bomb, but a “piece of aircraft fuselage.” The I.D.F. told The Times they did not strike the location at all on January 18. After the strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy, which unleashed global outrage, Israel’s response was much more swift and clear. Israeli officials launched a new humanitarian coordination cell, fired commanders and opened new aid access points. But after months of Israel’s war against Hamas — – [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] questions remain about to what extent the I.D.F. will hold their fire in places where aid workers or civilians are present.
Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years before he was killed in the surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment.
It’s only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen. Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement.
The supreme leader has the final say on all major decisions, including war, peace and the country’s disputed nuclear program.
In the meantime, a provisional governing council composed of President Masoud Pezeshkian, hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and senior Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi is guiding the country through its biggest crisis in decades. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that a new supreme leader would be chosen early this week.
The supreme leader is appointed by an 88-member panel called the Assembly of Experts, who by law are supposed to quickly name a successor. The panel consists of Shiite clerics who are popularly elected after their candidacies are approved by the Guardian Council, Iran’s constitutional watchdog.
Khamenei had major influence over both clerical bodies, making it unlikely the next leader will mark a radical departure.
Here are the top contenders.
Mojtaba Khamenei
The son of Khamenei, a mid-level Shiite cleric, is widely considered a potential successor. He has strong ties to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard but has never held office. His selection could prove awkward, as the Islamic Republic has long criticized hereditary rule and cast itself as a more just alternative.
Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi
Arafi is a member of the provisional government council. The senior Shiite cleric was handpicked by Khamenei to be a member of the Guardian Council in 2019, and three years later he was elected to the Assembly of Experts. He leads a network of seminaries.
Hassan Rouhani
Rouhani, a relative moderate, was president of Iran from 2013 to 2021 and reached the landmark nuclear agreement with the Obama administration that U.S. President Donald Trump scrapped during his first term. Rouhani served on the Assembly of Experts until 2024, when he said he was disqualified from running for reelection. Rouhani criticized it as an infringement on Iranians’ political participation.
Hassan Khomeini
Khomeini is the most prominent grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He is also seen as a relative moderate, but has never held government office. He currently works at his grandfather’s mausoleum in Tehran.
Ayatollah Mohammed Mehdi Mirbagheri
Mirbagheri is a senior cleric popular with hard-liners who serves on the Assembly of Experts.
He was close to the late Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a fellow hard-liner who wrote that Iran should not deprive itself of the right to produce “special weapons,” a veiled reference to nuclear arms.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mirbagheri denounced the closure of schools as a “conspiracy.”
He is currently the head of the Islamic Cultural Center in Qom, the main center for Islamic teaching in Iran.
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The U.S. has been cleared to use British bases for limited strikes on Iran’s missile capabilities after Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed off on the plan, and while U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey stated on Sunday Britain had “stepped up alongside the Americans.”
“The only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source, in their storage depots or the launchers which are used to fire the missiles,” Starmer confirmed in a recorded statement to the nation.
“The U.S. has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose,” he said. “We have taken the decision to accept this request.”
The decision came amid escalation across the Middle East in the wake of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory missile and drone attacks, raising fears of a broader regional conflict.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed off on a plan to use British bases for limited strikes on Iranian missile capabilities. (Kin Cheung / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
On Feb. 28, in the wake of Operation Epic Fury, Starmer confirmed British planes “are in the sky today” across the Middle East “as part of coordinated regional defensive operations to protect our people, our interests and our allies.”
Healey went on to disclose Sunday that two Iranian missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, where Britain maintains key sovereign base areas.
The Royal Air Force confirmed that Typhoon jets operating from Qatar as part of the joint U.K.-Qatar Typhoon Squadron successfully intercepted an Iranian drone heading toward Qatar.
About 300 British personnel are stationed at a naval facility in Bahrain, where Iranian missiles and drones struck nearby areas.
“We’re taking down the drones that are menacing either our bases, our people or our allies,” Healey told “Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips” on Sky. “We’ve stepped up alongside the Americans. We’ve stepped up our defensive forces in the Middle East. We’re flying those sorties.”
ISRAEL’S LARGEST EVER MILITARY FLYOVER HAMMERS IRANIAN MILITARY TARGETS
British Defense Secretary John Healey stressed that the U.K. had “no part” in the American-Israeli strikes on Iran. (Peter Nicholls/Pool via Reuters)
Healey also made sure to stress that the U.K. had “no part” in the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and insisted all British actions were defensive. “All our actions are about defending U.K. interests and defending U.K. allies,” he said.
When asked if the U.K. would join the U.S. in offensive action, Healey said, “I’m not going to speculate,” according to Sky News.
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Downing Street also confirmed Feb. 28 that Starmer and President Donald Trump had spoken by phone about the “situation in the Middle East,” the BBC reported.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Downing Street for comment.
Related Article
Army deployed and some areas in northern Gilgit-Baltistan region put under curfew after deadly violence over Khamenei’s killing.
Published On 2 Mar 2026
Pakistan has called in the military and imposed a three-day curfew in some areas following deadly protests over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint United States-Israeli attack on Saturday.
At least 24 people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between protesters and security forces across the country on Sunday, prompting authorities to tighten security around the US embassy and consulates.
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The curfew was imposed before dawn Monday in the districts of Gilgit, Skurdu, and Shigar in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, where at least 12 protesters and one security officer were killed and dozens of others wounded during confrontations, according to an official statement.
Of those, seven were killed in Gilgit, a rescue official said, while six others died in Skardu, a doctor told AFP news agency on Monday.
Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday attacked the offices of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which monitors the ceasefire along the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and the UN Development Programme in Skardu city.
Protesters also burned a police station and damaged a school and the offices of a local charity in Gilgit, according to officials.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday said protesters became violent near the UNMOGIP Field Station, which was vandalised.
“The safety and security of UN personnel and premises throughout the region remain our top priority, and we continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dujarric said.
Shabir Mir, a Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman, said the situation was under control and that the curfew would remain in place until Wednesday. Police chief Akbar Nasir Khan urged residents to stay indoors, citing “deteriorating law and order conditions”.
In the southern port city of Karachi, the country’s commercial hub, 10 people were killed and more than 60 injured during a protest outside the US consulate.
Two additional protesters were killed in the capital, Islamabad, while heading towards the US embassy.
Pakistani authorities have beefed up security at US diplomatic missions across the country, including around the US consulate building in Peshawar, to avoid any further violence.
The US embassy and its consulates in Karachi and Lahore cancelled visa appointments and American Citizen Services on Monday, citing security concerns.
The federal government warned that the situation could further deteriorate amid large-scale demonstrations condemning Khamenei’s killing on Saturday.
Tehran has responded with a series of drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and US assets in several Gulf countries.
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