Australia says Israel did not deliberately kill foreign aid workers in Gaza

By Lewis Jackson

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Israeli air strikes that killed international aid workers in Gaza in April were the result of serious operational failures but were not intentional, according to a Australian government review of the incident released on Friday.

Three Israeli air strikes hit the convoy of aid vehicles travelling through Gaza on April 1, killing seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) staff. The dead included Palestinians and citizens of Australia, Britain and Poland.

The killings drew widespread condemnation from Israel’s allies and accusations that Israel had deliberately targeted the air workers, a claim it rejected.

An Australian review into the deaths said the Israel Defense Force (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.

“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,” according to Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, who travelled to Israel to investigate the deaths.

Israel’s investigation into the deaths had been “timely, appropriate and, with some exceptions, sufficient,” he said.

“In this incident, it appears that the IDF controls failed, leading to errors in decision making and a misidentification, likely compounded by a level of confirmation bias.”

The IDF has previously called the incident a grave mistake.

In a statement accompanying the report, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia would push for full accountability from those responsible, including criminal charges if appropriate.

“The Military Advocate General of Israel is still to decide on further action,” she said in a statement.

“Our expectation remains that there be transparency about the Military Advocate General’s process and decision.”