Death of Cornish aid worker in Gaza 'inexcusable' says brother
James 'Jim' Henderson was one of seven workers killed in an airstrike
The brother of a Cornish aid worker killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza says his death is 'inexcusable'.
James "Jim" Henderson was one of seven aid workers who died when the World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy was hit outside the Deir al-Balah warehouse.
The 33-year-old former Royal Marine, from Falmouth, formed part of the relief team's security detail and died alongside fellow British veterans John Chapman, 57, and James Kirby, 47.
On behalf of the Henderson family, Jim's brother, who declined to be named, told The Times: "Accountability is the only hope of justice I have... I don't believe our Government will hold the correct people to account, but I guarantee that our Government will sell weapons to Israel, which may in turn be used to kill our fellow citizens. It's hard to comprehend that."
He added: "I feel this is inexcusable behaviour, to kill my brother and his colleagues on a humanitarian mission. Our thoughts are with the suffering people who have been deprived of basic humanitarian needs. It's unacceptable for our world leaders to ignore this gross miscarriage of justice."
"Particularly poignant"
Other relief charities are now considering their operations in Gaza.
Sanj Srikanthan, CEO of the Cornish-based international disaster relief charity ShelterBox, told us, "Every death in death in a war zone or conflict is tragic, but this is particularly poignant for me and all of us at Shelterbox because they're aid workers. They do what we do, and that's all they were trying to do when they were tragically killed."
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as unintended and "tragic" and pledged an independent inquiry.
"Unfortunately, in the past day, there was a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants in the Gaza Strip," he said in a video statement on Tuesday.
"This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence."