An Australian inquiry blames Israeli military failings for a fatal drone attack on a Gaza aid convoy

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Israeli military’s attack on an aid convoy in Gaza in April that killed seven people was the result of serious failures of defense procedures, mistaken identification and errors in decision-making, according to an Australian investigation that was made public Friday.

Australia initiated the investigation to examine Tel Aviv’s response to the widely condemned Israeli Defense Forces’ drone strikes on three World Central Kitchen vehicles on April 1. Australian Zomi Frankcom, three of her aid worker colleagues and three British personal security staff died in the attack.

Former Australian Defense Force Chief Mark Binskin was appointed the government’s special adviser on the matter and visited Israel in May. He also engaged with World Central Kitchen and Solace Global, the company that provided the convoy’s security team.

Binskin blamed the fatal strikes on “serious failures to follow IDF procedures, mistaken identification and errors in decision-making,” a statement said.

The armed security guards were likely mistaken for Hamas operatives, Binskin said. This was the primary factor behind a “significant break down in situational awareness.”

He found the strikes were not deliberately directed against World Central Kitchen.

But Binskin wrote: “It is important to all the families that an appropriate apology be provided to them by the government of Israel.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she had told Israel that the families deserved an apology.

While Binskin’s report outlined steps Israeli had taken to avoid a repeat tragedy, “stronger protocols” were needed to protect aid workers in Gaza, Wong said.

“Gaza remains the deadliest place on earth to be an aid worker. This was not a one-off incident,” Wong