Israeli airstrikes that killed international aid workers in Gaza in April were the result of serious operational failures, but were not intentional, according to an Australian government review of the incident released yesterday.
Three Israeli airstrikes hit a convoy of aid vehicles traveling through Gaza on April 1, killing seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) staff, including Australian team leader Zomi Frankcom. Palestinians and citizens of the US, Britain and Poland were also among those killed.
The killings drew widespread condemnation from Israel’s allies, as well as accusations by some that Israel had deliberately targeted the aid workers, a claim it rejected.
Photo: AP
An Australian review into the deaths said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) decided to launch missiles at the convoy after mistakenly believing it was being hijacked by Hamas fighters, who were in fact locally-contracted security guards.
In addition, information about the WCK convoy’s movements had not reached the IDF team behind the strike, it said.
This confusion was compounded because Israeli officials could not directly communicate with the aid convoy, the review added.
IDF staff also breached standard procedures in ordering the second and third strikes on the convoy without carrying out another identification process, it said.
“In this incident, it appears that the IDF controls failed, leading to errors in decisionmaking and a misidentification, likely compounded by a level of confirmation bias,” said Australian Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, who traveled to Israel to investigate the deaths.
“Based on the information available to me, it is my assessment that the IDF strike on the WCK aid workers was not knowingly or deliberately directed against the WCK,” he said.
Israel’s investigation into the deaths had been “timely, appropriate and, with some exceptions, sufficient,” he added.
Binskin said an apology and compensation for the families were important considerations for Israel, but stopped short of recommending Australia demand either of Israel.
The IDF has apologized and dismissed two senior commanders involved in the strikes. Three other commanders were formally reprimanded.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were unintended and tragic.
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong (黃英賢) said that Australia wanted those accountable to be held responsible, including criminal charges if appropriate.
Wong said she had written to her Israeli counterpart calling for greater protection for humanitarian workers.
“This is not an isolated incident,” she said. “We have seen 250 aid workers killed during this conflict and we have also seen recent events where UN vehicles have been fired upon, and it is clear that more needs to be done.”
The family of slain aid worker Frankcom called the Australian review an important first step and said they hoped Israel would conduct further investigations followed by appropriate action.
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