Pre-inquest hearing begins into deaths of three British aid workers killed by Israel Defense Forces in Gaza

22 September 2026

The seven aid workers (pictured) killed in the IDF’s attack on 1 April 2024. Credit: World Central Kitchen.

Garden Court North’s Pete Weatherby KC and Mira Hammad represented the families of Jim Henderson and John Chapman during the pre-inquest review hearing held yesterday (21 September 2026) at Avon Coroner’s Court.

Mr Henderson, Mr Chapman and a third British man, Mr Kirby, were unarmed security contractors working with the World Central Kitchen NGO, when their three-vehicle convoy was targeted and hit in an Israeli drone strike. All seven of the aid workers in the vehicles were killed in the attack which involved a series of four missiles.

The attack occurred despite the aid operation having been agreed with Israeli forces, and the vehicles being clearly marked. The families are seeking a full investigation of the attack and what they consider were clearly unlawful killings.

Two weeks ago, the Israeli authorities indicated that there would be no criminal investigation into the attack, a decision which the British, Australian and Canadian Governments described as “shameful”. On 12 September 2026, the Foreign Secretary, Ed Milliband described the attack as “cold-blooded killings”.

The inquest will examine why the Israeli forces attacked the convoy and whether UK intelligence or weaponry were involved. The drone used was a Hermes 450 manufactured by Elbit, the main Israeli arms manufacturer which has a number of factories in the UK.

During the hearing, Senior Coroner Maria Voisin confirmed that she was minded to designate interested party status to the IDF, Israeli Government, and Colonel Nochi Mendel, who ordered the strike, The Guardian reported. Further consideration will be given to the involvement of the UK Ministry of Defence or Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and Elbit Systems, as the Coroner pursues all relevant evidence.

“Intentionally lethal” strikes

In the written submission on behalf of the Henderson family, Pete outlined that the IDF strikes were “intentionally lethal”, and that “the postmortem finding shows that Jim’s injuries were so severe they resulted in his immediate death”.

It outlined various flaws and discrepancies in the IDF narratives which were “contradicted by all of the available evidence”, including “an alleged mistaken identification of a bag being placed into one of the cars being a gun or containing a gun”. Among this evidence is an investigation conducted by the Australian Government, which includes various media and first-hand accounts of the attack.

The submissions referred to open source material indicating that a Royal Air Force surveillance plane spent approximately five hours over Gaza on the day of the attack, appearing to return to base only minutes before the IDF launched  the airstrikes. The families of all three men want to know if the plane gathered any surveillance about the convoy – and what was shared with Israeli authorities.

Pete also told the hearing that it was a “matter of public concern” and “great importance to the family” to find out if the weaponry or parts of it was manufactured in the UK, or whether R&D was undertaken here.

A further pre-inquest review will take place in March.

Following the hearing, Jim Henderson’s father, Neil Henderson, said: “We hope the coroner will carry out a thorough investigation into the attack that killed Jim and the others [including] an exploration of all the issues relevant to his death, encompassing the decisions and policies leading to the attack, and what role, if any, UK authorities or military equipment originating from the UK may have played.”

Pete and Mira were instructed to represent the Henderson and Chapman families by Leanne Devine of Leigh Day Solicitors.

Additional media

The Guardian – Inquest into British aid workers killed in Gaza may call on Israeli and UK military chiefs

Declassified UK – Israel killed three UK citizens. Now their families want answers

BBC News – IDF and colonel may feature in Gaza aid workers’ inquest

For further information, please contact Alex Blair, Communications Manager at Garden Court North Chambers: ablair@gcnchambers.co.uk