Australia has demanded that Israel preserve all evidence surrounding the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza and it also plans to appoint an independent adviser to scrutinise the official investigation.
The Australian government said on Friday that the information provided by Israel on its investigation into the killing of Australian citizen Zomi Frankcom and her World Central Kitchen colleagues “hasn’t yet satisfied our expectations”.
The comments come after Australia received a briefing on the initial findings of Israel’s investigation on Friday morning. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said later on Friday that it had dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission, saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.
The findings of a retired general’s investigation into the Monday killings marked an embarrassing admission by Israel, which faces growing accusations from key allies, including the US, of not doing enough to protect Gaza’s civilians from its war with Hamas, AP reports.
The findings are likely to renew scepticism over the Israeli military’s decision-making. Palestinians, aid groups and human rights organisations have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing recklessly at civilians throughout the conflict — a charge Israel denies.
The Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, said official responses to the incident “suggest the gravity of the death of seven humanitarian workers is yet to be appreciated by the Israeli government”.
“Australia is concerned by initial advice from the [Israeli] ministry for foreign affairs that those responsible for commissioning and implementing the operation that killed Ms Frankcom and her colleagues have not been stood down while the investigation is undertaken,” Wong said in a statement on Friday, prior to the IDF announcement.
Wong and the defence minister, Richard Marles, were expected to write to their Israeli counterparts to outline Australia’s demands for the remainder of the investigation and its push for accountability of those found to be responsible.
These demands include that all evidence is preserved. This comes after the charity WCK said it had “asked the Israeli government to immediately preserve all documents, communications, video and/or audio recordings, and any other materials potentially relevant to the 1 April strikes”.
Three WCK vehicles were struck by Israeli drones on Monday when they travelled along a route south of Deir al-Balah pre-approved and coordinated with the IDF.
Wong and Marles were also expected to tell their counterparts that any findings that IDF targeting policies and practices contributed to the fatal incident should trigger urgent adjustments and announced openly.
The Australian government also plans to appoint a “special adviser” to help scrutinise the Israeli investigation.
This person, who has yet to be named, would likely be an Australian figure with expertise in military matters and international humanitarian law.
The adviser’s role would be to ensure the investigation has been conducted in a manner consistent with the Australian government’s expectations.
Marles said the deaths “were utterly inexcusable and clear practical action is needed to ensure such a tragedy is never repeated”.
The IDF has described the strikes as “a grave mistake” that “followed a misidentification”.
It said on Friday that the findings of its investigation had been presented to the ambassadors of countries whose citizens were killed.
WCK said on Thursday it had asked the governments of Australia, Canada, the US, Poland and the UK “to join us in demanding an independent, third-party investigation into these attacks”.
The charity said such an investigation should examine whether the attacks were carried out intentionally or otherwise violated international law.
The deputy leader of the Australian Greens, Mehreen Faruqi, called for “an independent war crimes investigation into the deaths of Zomi and other aid workers, by an agency like the international criminal court”.
Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the incident, with Joe Biden telling Benjamin Netanyahu that future US support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza would depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.
The US president also called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza “to stabilise and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians”, the White House said.
Soon after the call, Netanyahu’s office announced that Israel would open the Erez crossing in northern Gaza, arguing that increased aid was “necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war”.
The UN humanitarian coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jamie McGoldrick, said the WCK deaths were “not an isolated incident” as “at least 196 humanitarians had been killed in the OPT since October 2023”.
