Israel says its strike that killed aid workers was a mistake. Rights groups say it was no anomaly

By LEE KEATH
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — The Israeli military says two basic mistakes led to the series of drone strikes that killed seven staffers from the World Central Kitchen charity. The explanation raises a question: If that’s the case, how often has Israel made such mistakes in its 6-month-old offensive in Gaza? Rights groups and aid workers say the incident was hardly an anomaly. They say the wider problem is not violations of the military’s rules of engagement but the rules themselves. In Israel’s drive to destroy Hamas, the rights groups and workers say Israel seems to have given itself wide leeway to determine what is a target and how many civilian deaths it allows as collateral damage. Israel says it’s targeting Hamas and blames the civilian death toll on militants operating among the population.