Video and images of the deadly airstrike in Gaza that killed seven aid workers from the nonprofit World Central Kitchen appear to show that the strike was carried out by targeted drone missiles, an explosive weapons expert said.
Chris Cobb-Smith, a former British Army artillery officer and munitions expert, told CNN the heavy damage to three vehicles seen in video and images from the scene was consistent with the use of “highly accurate drone-fired missiles,” adding it was “ hard to believe” the tragic incident was accidental.
The drone that fired the missiles would have been operated in conjunction with a surveillance drone, Cobb-Smith said, meaning the Israeli military would have had total visibility of the cars. At least two of the vehicles were branded with the WCK logo on their roofs, the group has said.
The “limited blast” and “considerable localized destruction” seen in photos and videos of the aftermath are also consistent with an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle strike, he added.
Cobb-Smith told CNN missile fragments would be needed to definitively identify the exact munition used in the strike.
Patrick Senft, a research coordinator at Armament Research Services (ARES), echoed the opinion of Cobb-Smith, saying that the aftermath of the strike “seems consistent with munitions deployed by UAVs.”
“Without munition fragments, I can’t say anything for certain, but the damage to the vehicles appears consistent with precision-guided munitions with a small explosive payload,” Senft said.
