The Israeli military dismissed two officers and formally reprimanded senior commanders after an inquiry into the killing of seven aid workers in an air strike in Gaza this week found serious errors and breaches of procedure, the military said.

The inquiry found Israeli forces mistakenly believed they were attacking Hamas gunmen when drones hit the three vehicles of the World Central Kitchen aid group late on Monday night, and that standard procedures had not been followed.

"The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from serious operational failures, mistaken classification and identification, errors in decision making and strikes that were conducted in violation of standard operating procedures," said Admiral Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli military.

The military said it had dismissed a brigade chief of staff with the rank of colonel and a brigade fire support officer with the rank of major, and formally reprimanded senior officers including the general at the head of the Southern Command.

The killing of the seven aid workers, who included citizens of Britain, Australia and Poland, a dual US-Canadian national and a Palestinian colleague, stirred global outrage this week. After publication of the findings, World Central Kitchen demanded an independent commission to investigate the incident.

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