Australian investigation points to “serious failings”

The attack that killed seven aid workers in April in the Gaza Strip was the result of “serious failures” of the Israeli army, according to the Australian government’s inquiry report released on Friday, August 2. The inquiry, led by former Air Force chief Mark Binskin, was ordered by Canberra following the death of an Australian national in the series of three strikes, which also claimed the lives of three Britons, an American-Canadian, a Pole and a Palestinian.

The seven victims worked for the American organization World Central Kitchen (WCK), founded by the famous chef José Andrés. The Israeli army had acknowledged a series of errors at various levels. The attack “was not knowingly or deliberately directed against WCK”states the report, which recalls that the internal investigation carried out by the Israeli army concluded that “serious error arising from a serious failure due to misidentification, errors in decision-making and violations of rules of engagement and standard operating procedures”According to the document, the Israeli military mistook the humanitarian convoy for a convoy of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas because of the presence on the roof of one of the trucks of an armed security guard apparently working for WCK. “In this incident, it appears that the Israel Defense Forces’ controls failed, leading to errors in decision-making and misidentification.”the report estimates.

One of the most significant mistakes was failing to read the movement plan that had been agreed upon in advance between the Israeli military and WCK. Israel only discovered the error when information began circulating on social media about an hour after the attack, the report concludes. In addition to the litany of operational failures, Mark Binskin’s report finds that Israel’s response was “appropriate”. Two officers were quickly removed from duty and three others were reprimanded, the report said.