Back in April, seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers were killed by the IDF in Gaza, and Israel was accused of deliberately targeting them, despite an IDF investigation finding it was a tragic accident.
Australia was one of those countries to treat the IDF’s findings with skepticism, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying said Canberra did not “find the explanations to be satisfactory.” So they appointed a former chief of Australia’s Defense Force to serve as a special adviser working with the IDF on continuing investigations.
His findings have just been released and they accord with what Israel said all along.
Australia is pressing Israel to reform its coordination with humanitarian organisations to protect civilians and aid workers, following Special Adviser Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin’s report on the deaths of Zomi Frankcom and her World Central Kitchen colleagues.
ACM Binskin confirmed the Israeli Defence Forces’ strikes on their vehicles were the result of serious failures to follow IDF procedures, mistaken identification and errors in decision-making.
This is consistent with the IDF’s own assessment that this “incident should not have occurred” and was a “grave mistake”.
Gaza remains the deadliest place on earth to be an aid worker.
The UN reports that more than 250 aid workers have been killed since the conflict in Gaza began. In recent weeks, at least three UN vehicles have come under attack.
This is why the Australian Government is implementing all of ACM Binskin’s recommendations, including the recommendation for further calls on Israel to improve coordination and deconfliction with humanitarian organisations working on the ground.
None of those who accused Israel of deliberately targeting the workers have recanted, and, some like the World Socialist Web Site, are doubling down, accusing Australia of whitewashing Israel’s crimes. Because, socialists.
When Israel is unfairly accused of horrific crimes, that makes the news and social media feeds of all and sundry, not to mention UN agenda items. When we are exonerated of such crimes, it hardly makes a ripple.
Which is why sharing this post and news items related to this recent report is so important.
