Australia says deadly IDF strike on Gaza aid convoy was result of ‘serious failures’
In April incident, army confused locally contracted security guards for Hamas gunmen, fired second and third times in violation of own policy, report finds
An Israeli strike in April that killed seven charity workers traveling in a Gaza aid convoy was the result of “serious failures” such as “mistaken identification,” an Australian government probe released Friday found.
Australian national Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom was among a group of seven World Central Kitchen staff killed on April 1 when their aid convoy was mistakenly hit by an Israeli air strike.
The team had been working in Gaza to provide food aid to the approximately 2.3 million residents of the enclave which has been ravaged by war since the October 7 Hamas onslaught, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Former Australian air force chief Mark Binskin was tasked with monitoring Israel’s investigation into the World Central Kitchen incident.
His declassified report, released Friday, found that three vehicles in the aid convoy were “struck in relatively quick succession” after they were tagged as suspicious.
An Israeli surveillance drone flagged the vehicles after noticing some of the charity’s security personnel were carrying guns, Binskin found.
A “breakdown in situational awareness” and a sense of “confusion” led Israel to launch missiles at the convoy, mistaking the locally contracted security guards for Hamas combatants.
In addition, information about the WCK convoy’s movements had not reached the IDF team behind the strike, the report said, adding that this confusion was compounded because Israeli officials could not directly communicate with the aid convoy.
“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.
Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom, Damian Soból, Jacob Flickinger, James Kirby, James (Jim) Henderson and John Chapman. (World Central Kitchen/X)
IDF staff violated standard procedures in ordering the second and third strikes on the convoy without carrying out another identification process, the report said.
Despite the litany of operational failures, Binskin’s report found that Israel’s subsequent response had been “timely, appropriate and, with some exceptions, sufficient.”
The IDF has previously called the incident a grave mistake and fired two senior commanders involved in the strikes. Three other commanders were formally reprimanded.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong urged Israel to apologize — which it has done — saying Canberra would continue to press for “full accountability,” including potential criminal charges.
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.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
