SYDNEY: 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 traveling 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.
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 violated 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 decision making and a misidentification, likely compounded by a level of confirmation bias,” according to 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.”
Israel’s investigation into the deaths had been “timely, appropriate and, with some exceptions, sufficient,” he said.
The IDF has previously called the incident a grave mistake and dismissed two senior commanders involved in the strikes. Three other commanders were formally reprimanded.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong called on the Israeli government to apologize and said 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.”
Australia says Israel did not deliberately kill foreign aid workers in Gaza
https://arab.news/ndkjy
Australia says Israel did not deliberately kill foreign aid workers in Gaza
- Three Israeli air strikes hit the convoy of aid vehicles traveling through Gaza on April 1
- The killings drew widespread condemnation from Israel’s allies and accusations that Israel had deliberately targeted the air workers
Israeli army takes journalists into a tunnel in a Gaza city it seized and largely flattened
- Israel and Hamas are on the cusp of finishing the first phase of the truce, which mandated the return of all hostages, living and dead, in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel
- Hamas has said communication with its remaining units in Rafah has been cut off for months and that it was not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas
RAFAH, Gaza Strip: One by one, the soldiers squeezed through a narrow entrance to a tunnel in southern Gaza. Inside a dark hallway, some bowed their heads to avoid hitting the low ceiling, while watching their step as they walked over or around jagged concrete, crushed plastic bottles and tattered mattresses.
On Monday, Israel’s military took journalists into Rafah — the city at Gaza’s southernmost point that troops seized last year and largely flattened — as the 2-month-old Israel-Hamas ceasefire reaches a critical point. Israel has banned international journalists from entering Gaza since the war began more than two years ago, except for rare, brief visits supervised by the military, such as this one.
Soldiers escorted journalists inside a tunnel, which they said was one of Hamas’ most significant and complex underground routes, connecting cities in the embattled territory and used by top Hamas commanders. Israel said Hamas had kept the body of a hostage in the underground passage: Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old soldier who was killed in Gaza more than a decade ago and whose remains had been held there.
Hamas returned Goldin’s body last month as part of a US-brokered ceasefire in the war triggered by the militants’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and hundreds taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says roughly half the dead have been women and children.
Israel and Hamas are on the cusp of finishing the first phase of the truce, which mandated the return of all hostages, living and dead, in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel. The body of just one more hostage remains to be returned.
Mediators warn the second phase will be far more challenging since it includes thornier issues, such as disarming Hamas and Israel’s withdrawal from the strip. Israel currently controls more than half of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to travel to Washington this month to discuss those next steps with US President Donald Trump.
Piles of rubble line Rafah’s roads
Last year, Israel launched a major operation in Rafah, where many Palestinians had sought refuge from offensives elsewhere. Heavy fighting left much of the city in ruins and displaced nearly one million Palestinians. This year, when the military largely had control of the city, it systematically demolished most of the buildings that remained standing, according to satellite photos.
Troops also took control of and shut the vital Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only gateway to the outside world that was not controlled by Israel.
Israel said Rafah was Hamas’ last major stronghold and key to dismantling the group’s military capabilities, a major war aim.
On the drive around Rafah on Monday, towers of mangled concrete, wires and twisted metal lined the roads, with few buildings still standing and none unscathed. Remnants of people’s lives were scattered the ground: a foam mattress, towels and a book explaining the Qur’an.
Last week, Israel said it was ready to reopen the Rafah crossing but only for people to leave the strip. Egypt and many Palestinians fear that once people leave, they won’t be allowed to return. They say Israel is obligated to open the crossing in both directions.
Israel has said that entry into Gaza would not be permitted until Israel receives all hostages remaining in the strip.
Inside the tunnel
The tunnel that journalists were escorted through runs beneath what was once a densely populated residential neighborhood, under a United Nations compound and mosques. Today, Rafah is a ghost town. Underground, journalists picked their way around dangling cables and uneven concrete slabs covered in sand.
The army says the tunnel is more than 7 kilometers (4 miles) long and up to 25 meters (82 feet) deep and was used for storing weapons as well as long-term stays. It said top Hamas commanders were there during the war, including Mohammed Sinwar — who was believed to have run Hamas’ armed wing and was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who helped mastermind the Oct. 7 attack. Israel has said it has killed both of them.
“What we see right here is a perfect example of what Hamas did with all the money and the equipment that was brought into Gaza throughout the years,” said Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani. “Hamas took it and built an incredible city underground for the purposes of terror and holding bodies of hostages.”
Israel has long accused Hamas of siphoning off money for military purposes. While Hamas says the Palestinians are an occupied people and have a right to resist, the group also has a civilian arm and ran a government that provided services such as health care, a police force and education.
The army hasn’t decided what to do with the tunnel. It could seal it with concrete, explode it or hold it for intelligence purposes among other options.
Since the ceasefire began, three soldiers have been killed in clashes with about 200 Hamas militants that Israeli and Egyptian officials say remain underground in Israeli-held territory.
Hamas has said communication with its remaining units in Rafah has been cut off for months and that it was not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas.
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeated violations of the deal during the first phase. Israel has accused Hamas of dragging out the hostage returns, while Palestinian health officials say over 370 Palestinians have been killed in continued Israeli strikes since the ceasefire took effect.
