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 an 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, including Australian team leader Zomi Frankcom. Palestinians and citizens of the United States, Britain and Poland were also among those killed.

The killings drew widespread condemnation from Israel's allies as well as accusations by some that Israel had deliberately targeted the aid workers, a claim it rejected.

An Australian review into the deaths said the Israel Defense Forces (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 travelled 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.

Binskin said an apology and compensation for the families were important considerations for Israel, but stopped short of recommending Australia demand either of Israel.

The IDF has apologised and dismissed two senior commanders involved in the strikes. Three other commanders were formally reprimanded. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were unintended and tragic.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong 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."

The family of slain aid worker Frankcom called the Australian review an important first step and said they hoped Israel would conduct further investigations followed by appropriate action.

(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Alasdair Pal and Miral Fahmy)