Australia Values Israeli Attack That Kills Humanitarian Workers In Gaza Due To Operational Failure

JAKARTA - Israel's airstrike that killed international aid workers in Gaza, Palestine in April due to a serious but unintentional operational failure, according to a review by the Australian Government released Friday.

Three Israeli airstrikes hit a convoy of aid vehicles traveling via Gaza on April 1, killing seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) staff, including Australian team leader Zomi Frankcom. Palestinians and citizens of the United States, Britain and Poland were also among those killed.

The killing drew widespread criticism from Israeli allies as well as accusations by several parties that Israel was deliberately targeting aid workers, claims it rejected.

Australia's review of the death said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) decided to launch a missile into the convoy, after mistakenly assessing the convoy was hijacked by Hamas fighters, who were actually locally contracted security guards.

"In addition, information about the movement of the WCK convoy has not yet reached the IDF team behind the attack," reads the review.

The confusion got worse as Israeli officials were unable to communicate directly with the aid convoy, the review added.

IDF staff also violated standard procedures in ordering the second and third attacks against the convoy without carrying out any other identification process, the review continued.

"In this incident, it appears that IDF control failed, which caused an error in decision-making and misidentification, which is likely to be exacerbated by the confirmation bias level," said Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, who traveled to Israel to investigate the death.

"Based on the information available to me, according to my assessment, the IDF attack on WCK aid workers was not consciously or intentionally aimed at toilets," he said.

Israel's investigation into the death has been "precise, precise and, with some exceptions, adequate," he said.

Binskin said the apology and compensation for the victim's family was an important consideration for Israel, but did not recommend Australia to sue Israel.

Separately, the IDF has apologized and fired two senior commanders involved in the attack. Three other commanders were officially reprimanded. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was unintentional and tragic.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia wants those responsible for being held accountable, including criminal charges if necessary.

Foreign Minister Wong said he had written a letter to his Israeli counterpart asking for greater protection for humanitarian workers.

"This is not a separate incident," he said.

"We have seen 250 aid workers killed during this conflict and we have also seen recent events where UN vehicles were fired and it is clear that more needs to be done," he continued.

Frankcom's family of aid workers who were killed called Australia's review an important first step, saying they hoped Israel would carry out further investigations followed by appropriate action.