Israel did not kill aid workers from World Central Kitchen on purpose, according to Australian study

This article was last updated on August 2, 2024

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Israel did not kill aid workers on purpose, according to Australian study

The Israeli army has the aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK). on the 1st of April were not deliberately killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip, Australian research shows.

Seven employees of food aid organization WCK were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the central part of the Gaza Strip. They were hit after leaving a warehouse in Deir-al Balah, where they had just delivered relief supplies taken from a ship. The team drove in a convoy of three cars with the aid organization’s logo on the roof.

The victims included a Palestinian driver, British and Polish employees and an aid worker with dual American and Canadian nationality. Australian Zomi Frankcom led the team. Australian Prime Minister Albanese called the airstrike “completely unacceptable” and sent an air force officer to Israel to investigate the airstrike.

The Israeli military did not immediately take responsibility for the attack and announced an independent investigation. Shortly afterwards, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that the aid workers had been killed by the army in an “unintentional attack on innocent people”. WCK said after the deadly airstrike that the convoy was hit despite coordination with the Israeli army. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote that, according to a source, the incident could have happened because “every commander makes his own rules.”

‘Not deliberately or deliberately attacked’

The Australian air force officer has now concluded that the Israeli army unit that carried out the attack did not know the transport would take place. According to his investigation, the Israeli army mistook the security guards hired by WCK for terrorists and believed that they had hijacked the cars. Communication with the convoy was not possible.

“Based on the information at my disposal, I conclude that the WCK employees were not consciously or deliberately attacked,” the air force officer said. He calls the airstrike the result of “serious shortcomings in compliance with procedures”.

WCK

World Central Kitchen was founded in 2010 by Spanish celebrity chef José Andrés after the deadly earthquake in Haiti. The organization provides meals to victims of natural disasters and humanitarian crises. After the Hamas attacks on October 7, the organization provided meals to Israeli refugees from the Gaza border area and then started helping Palestinians in Gaza. In addition to Gaza, WCK is also active in Ukraine, among others.

WCK’s director called the attack “inexcusable” in April and spoke of “not just an attack on WCK, but an attack on humanitarian aid organizations working in the most dire situations, where food is used as a weapon of war.” Immediately after the attack, the organization stopped activities in Gaza, only to resume them in May.

Do more

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said those who carried out the airstrike should be held accountable and possibly prosecuted. She does not call the attack an isolated incident and states that a total of 250 aid workers have been killed during the war. She believes more should be done to protect first responders.

The family of Australian aid worker Frankcom calls the outcome of the investigation an important first step and hopes that Israel will further investigate the airstrike and take appropriate measures.