Steven TRASK
Thu, August 1, 2024
A car used by US-based World Central Kitchen bears witness to an Israeli strike that mistakenly killed seven aid workers (-)
An Israeli strike that killed seven charity workers in a Gaza aid convoy was the result of "mistaken identification" and a raft of other serious failures, the Australian government found in a report released Friday.
Australian national Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom was among a group of seven World Central Kitchen staff killed when their convoy -- working to distribute food and water -- was mistakenly hit by Israeli missiles in April.
Canberra is now pushing for Israel to apologise to the victims' families and urging its military to rethink how it engages with aid groups in the Palestinian enclave.
The deaths of an Australian, three Britons, a North American, a Palestinian and a Pole triggered global outrage.
Former Australian air force chief Mark Binskin was tasked with monitoring Israel's investigation.
His declassified report, released Friday, found three trucks in the aid convoy were "struck in relatively quick succession".
An Israeli surveillance drone flagged the vehicles after noticing some of the charity's security escort were carrying guns, Binskin found.
A "breakdown in situational awareness" and a sense of "confusion" led to the "mistaken identification" of these security staff.
Israeli commanders believed they were armed Hamas hijackers rather than civilian security, the report found.
- Lethal error -
Photos showed how one of the missiles obliterated the interior of a white aid truck after piercing a hole in its roof, which was emblazoned with the charity's logo.
Another significant blunder was the failure to read the movement plan previously agreed on by the military and the charity.
Israel only discovered the lethal error when reports started circulating on social media about an hour later, the report concluded.
Aside from the litany of "serious failures" uncovered, Binskin's report said Israel's actions in the months following had been "timely" and "appropriate".
Two officers were quickly stood down and three others were reprimanded.
Israel was swift to issue a public apology.
But the report concluded the Israeli military needed to do more to make amends with the victims' families.
"The families do not consider this to be a proper apology at the appropriate level," it read.
"Not do they feel reassured that lessons have truly been taken from the incident and that measures have been put in place to reduce the chance of it happening again."
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra would continue to press for "full accountability" -- including potential criminal charges.
"We do believe an apology should be provided," Wong told reporters.
- Ceasefire calls -
"The Australian government will persist until proper protections for aid workers are in place," she added.
"The best protection for aid workers and civilians is a ceasefire."
Founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres, US-based charity World Central Kitchen provides food to areas ravaged by humanitarian crises and natural disasters.
It was one of only two NGOs spearheading efforts to deliver aid to Gaza by boat from Cyprus.
Having paused its Gaza work in the wake of the strike, World Central Kitchen resumed operations in late April.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously admitted that the military had "unintentionally" killed the volunteers.
The Gaza conflict erupted with Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom remain in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 39,480 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the territory's health ministry.
sft/djw/cw
IDF failures led to aid workers' deaths - Australia
Thu, August 1, 2024
A car used by US-based World Central Kitchen bears witness to an Israeli strike that mistakenly killed seven aid workers (-)
An Israeli strike that killed seven charity workers in a Gaza aid convoy was the result of "mistaken identification" and a raft of other serious failures, the Australian government found in a report released Friday.
Australian national Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom was among a group of seven World Central Kitchen staff killed when their convoy -- working to distribute food and water -- was mistakenly hit by Israeli missiles in April.
Canberra is now pushing for Israel to apologise to the victims' families and urging its military to rethink how it engages with aid groups in the Palestinian enclave.
The deaths of an Australian, three Britons, a North American, a Palestinian and a Pole triggered global outrage.
Former Australian air force chief Mark Binskin was tasked with monitoring Israel's investigation.
His declassified report, released Friday, found three trucks in the aid convoy were "struck in relatively quick succession".
An Israeli surveillance drone flagged the vehicles after noticing some of the charity's security escort were carrying guns, Binskin found.
A "breakdown in situational awareness" and a sense of "confusion" led to the "mistaken identification" of these security staff.
Israeli commanders believed they were armed Hamas hijackers rather than civilian security, the report found.
- Lethal error -
Photos showed how one of the missiles obliterated the interior of a white aid truck after piercing a hole in its roof, which was emblazoned with the charity's logo.
Another significant blunder was the failure to read the movement plan previously agreed on by the military and the charity.
Israel only discovered the lethal error when reports started circulating on social media about an hour later, the report concluded.
Aside from the litany of "serious failures" uncovered, Binskin's report said Israel's actions in the months following had been "timely" and "appropriate".
Two officers were quickly stood down and three others were reprimanded.
Israel was swift to issue a public apology.
But the report concluded the Israeli military needed to do more to make amends with the victims' families.
"The families do not consider this to be a proper apology at the appropriate level," it read.
"Not do they feel reassured that lessons have truly been taken from the incident and that measures have been put in place to reduce the chance of it happening again."
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra would continue to press for "full accountability" -- including potential criminal charges.
"We do believe an apology should be provided," Wong told reporters.
- Ceasefire calls -
"The Australian government will persist until proper protections for aid workers are in place," she added.
"The best protection for aid workers and civilians is a ceasefire."
Founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres, US-based charity World Central Kitchen provides food to areas ravaged by humanitarian crises and natural disasters.
It was one of only two NGOs spearheading efforts to deliver aid to Gaza by boat from Cyprus.
Having paused its Gaza work in the wake of the strike, World Central Kitchen resumed operations in late April.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously admitted that the military had "unintentionally" killed the volunteers.
The Gaza conflict erupted with Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom remain in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 39,480 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the territory's health ministry.
sft/djw/cw
IDF failures led to aid workers' deaths - Australia
Gavin Butler - BBC News
Thu, August 1, 2024
The strike on 1 April killed seven charity workers in Gaza [Getty Images]
An Australian government review has found that "serious failures" by the Israeli military led to drone strikes on an aid convoy that killed seven workers in Gaza.
The strike on 1 April killed charity workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) from Australia, Canada, Poland, the UK and the US, as well as their Palestinian colleague.
The review, released on Friday, concluded that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) failed to follow procedures and made identification and decision-making errors.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Australian government would "press for full accountability" for those responsible for the incident, "including any appropriate criminal charges".
"The military advocate general of Israel is still to decide on further action," she said in a statement on Friday.
The IDF had launched an internal investigation amid intense international pressure and sacked senior officers after acknowledging that the strike was a "serious failure" and a "grave mistake".
The charity's team had been authorised by the Israeli military to help transfer aid supplies from the coast to a warehouse. The convoy was hit in the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah when drone operators did not follow rules and thought WCK's cars were carrying Hamas gunmen, the IDF's inquiry said.
WCK founder José Andrés had accused Israeli forces of targeting his aid workers "systematically, car by car".
While WCK recognised at the time that the IDF's admission of failure was an important step forward, it called for an independent investigation into the deadly attack.
"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," WCK said in a statement in April.
"We demand the creation of an independent commission to investigate the killings of our WCK colleagues. The IDF cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza."
Shortly after the attack, the Australian government appointed former defence force chief Mark Binskin as a special advisor on a review into the WCK workers' deaths.
Ms Wong said at the time that Mr Binskin would examine the "sufficiency and appropriateness of the steps taken by the Israeli government" in relation to the incident.
Following the release of the review on Friday, Ms Wong said the Australian government would implement all of Mr Binskin's recommendations, including calls for Israel to improve coordination with humanitarian organisations working on the ground.
The IDF had also said that it had formally reprimanded three commanders for their overall responsibility in the strikes, and that those who carried out the attack could face criminal prosecution.
Ms Wong said Israel is still in the process of determining accountability.
"Our expectation remains that there be transparency about the military advocate general's process and decision," she added.
More than 250 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the United Nations.
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