Canada and Australia condemn Israel for refusing criminal probe into aid worker killings in Gaza
2 hours ago
World Central Kitchen
The UK, Canada and Australia have described as “shameful” Israel’s decision not to launch a criminal investigation into strikes on a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy in Gaza in 2024, which killed seven humanitarian workers
The victims were three British nationals, a Pole, an Australian, a Canadian and a dual US-Canadian citizen
A joint statement by the three foreign ministries said: “The victims of this incident and their families deserve justice and accountability, and we will continue to seek answers on their behalf.”
Earlier, Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, defended the decision, saying “there was no criminal intention” and therefore “no criminal responsibility”
The statement said that on 1 April 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired on the WCK convoy as it was delivering food to civilians in Gaza
“In the more than two years since, we have been pressing for Israel to swiftly and thoroughly consider the case and hold those responsible to account,” it said
The three countries said the fact that Israel’s announcement came on World Humanitarian Day, “while the world honoured the courage and sacrifice of humanitarians, was particularly egregious”
It also said the WCK attack was only “one of countless incidents in Gaza where there has been no accountability”, as Gaza remains “the deadliest place to deliver aid”, with 186 humanitarian workers killed in 2025
It urged Israel to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law and do more to ensure that humanitarian staff can carry out their work safely
‘Serious failures’
In its statement on Wednesday, the IDF said the presence of an armed guard with the convoy had not been flagged to it before the convoy set off, and that he was falsely identified as a Hamas fighter. It also accused the convoy of de
Notwithstanding “serious failures” in the process that led to the killings, “the decisions of the commanders did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct,” the IDF said
Prior to the statement by the three countries, Australia summoned Hillel Newman. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her country was “outraged” by the Israeli government’s decision
She also said there were still many “unanswered questions” about the strikes, including why, if the first strike on the convoy was “a catastrophic error”, two further strikes followed just minutes apart
Poland’s foreign ministry also said on Thursday that it was “very disappointed” and had summoned Israel’s ambassador in Warsaw
The founder of World Central Kitchen, Jose Andres, described the decision as “wrong” and “painful for all of us”, demanding an independent commission to investigate
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly responded to the latest statement from the UK, Australia and Canada, but he previously said that the military had “unintentionally” killed the volunteers
The statement came after a harsh exchange of words between UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar over Israel’s plans to open tenders for the construction of about 1,200 settlement homes in a strategically important part of the occupied West Bank
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and plans to build in the so-called E1 area – east of Jerusalem – have long been internationally condemned
Miliband condemned the publication of the tender as “an unacceptable and destructive act”, and called on Israel to “halt E1 plans immediately, retract the tender and stop all settlement expansion”
In response, Saar said on social media that he rejected “outright” Miliband’s statement
“The Jewish people have the right to live throughout the Land of Israel, just as the British have the right to live in London and throughout the United Kingdom,” he wrote
AFP via Getty Images
While the IDF had decided not to launch a criminal investigation into the strikes on the WCK convoy, it announced in the same statement that it would carry out a criminal investigation into the killing by Israeli forces of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and six of her relatives in Gaza in 2024
It also said it would similarly investigate the killing of 15 Palestinians, including medics and a UN worker, in March 2025. Their bodies were found buried in shallow graves a week later next to crushed vehicles
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