The Israeli military announced on Friday it plans to remove two officers from their posts following the fatal attack on employees of the aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) in the Gaza Strip.
Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi has decided to dismiss a responsible commander and the chief of staff of the responsible brigade, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said. Media reports said other commanders had been given a warning.
An army investigation published on Friday came to the conclusion that the incident on Monday was a "serious failure" on the part of the Israeli forces. They attacked the aid convoy on the suspicion that two armed members of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas were in a vehicle, the investigation said.
The Israeli forces did not recognize the vehicles as belonging to the aid organization, which said they were clearly marked. The attacks on the three vehicles were carried out in "serious violation of the army's orders and standard operating procedures," the report added.
"The results of the investigation indicate that the incident should not have happened."
The incident, which killed seven aid workers including three Britons and a Pole, led to renewed calls from Britain for the Jewish state to take more care with civilians in the Palestinian coastal enclave of Gaza. Poland's Foreign Ministry even handed over a note of protest to Israel's ambassador and received an apology.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) even called for an end to arms exports to Israel in a resolution that made no mention of Hamas and its terrorist attack on Israel in October which prompted the war on Hamas-controlled Gaza.
The step is necessary to "prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights," according to the text adopted by the body in Geneva.
The resolution was supported by 28 countries, including Belgium, Finland and Luxembourg. Thirteen countries abstained from voting, including France and the Netherlands.
Germany was one of the six countries to vote against the resolution. German Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Katharina Stasch said that as well as not mentioning Hamas, the resolution denied Israel the right to self-defence and contained prejudgements against Israel.
Israeli Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar condemned the resolution.
"How many more dead Israelis do we need to condemn Hamas?" she asked the council. "A vote in favour is a vote in favour of Hamas."
UNHRC resolutions are requests, and the council has no means of enforcing them. It also commissioned a report on violence by Israeli settlers.
Israel meanwhile wants to take "immediate steps" to increase humanitarian aid for the civilian population in the besieged Gaza Strip, the Israeli war Cabinet announced early on Friday.
The Israeli port of Ashdod and the Erez border crossing would be temporarily opened to aid, making it easier for it to reach the north of the Gaza Strip, which is particularly affected by food shortages.
Aid supplies coming from Jordan via the Kerem Shalom border crossing would also be increased.
The announcement was made after a telephone conversation between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the White House, Biden had called on the Israeli prime minister to take a series of "specific, concrete and measurable steps" to reduce the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip and increase protection for volunteers.
Future US policy on Gaza depends on how Israel implements these measures, Biden warned, in the latest spat between the two nations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also told Israel that humanitarian aid for the civilian population in Gaza needs to be delivered sustainably and without interruption.
The top US diplomat welcomed moves to boost deliveries but said: "The real test is results, and that's what we're looking to see in the coming days and in the coming weeks."
Blinken said the United States "will be looking closely" at the number of vehicles actually entering Gaza to deliver aid, watching for delays and obstacles, and monitoring how aid is distributed.
He also said the US wants to see accountability in the wake of the Israeli airstrike on the WCK aid workers.
WCK meanwhile reacted to the news of the officer sackings with a statement, which demanded an independent commission into the deaths.
"The IDF has acknowledged its responsibility and its fatal errors in the deadly attack on our convoy in Gaza. It is also taking disciplinary action against those in command and committed to other reforms. These are important steps forward," it said.
"However it is also clear from their preliminary investigation that the IDF has deployed deadly force without regard to its own protocols, chain of command and rules of engagement. Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families."