Growing Calls For Independent Inquiry Into Killing Of Aid Workers In Gaza

Calls for an independent inquiry into the killing of aid workers in Gaza are growing.

World Central Kitchen founder, Jose Andres has an independent investigation into the Israeli strikes that killed seven of its aid workers in Gaza.

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Earlier this week, seven aid workers, including Australian aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom, were killed when an Israeli air strike hit their convoy. Workers from Poland, the UK and a US-Canadian national were also killed.

 The charity has released a statement saying: “An independent investigation is the only way to determine the truth of what happened… and prevent future attacks on humanitarian aid workers.”

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 World Central Kitchen has also asked the countries whose citizens were killed to join it in demanding “an independent, third-party” inquiry.

 Anthony Albanese has called for full accountability over the incident. He said he “conveyed to Prime Minister Netanyahu in very clear terms that Australians were outraged by this death, by this tragedy, of this fine Australian”.

 In a video statement, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Unfortunately, in the past day, there was a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants in the Gaza Strip.

“This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence.”

“The death of any aid worker is outrageous and unacceptable,” she told Sky News. “I don’t want Israel to be under any illusions about how outraged we are at the death of an Australian citizen in these circumstances.”

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden phoned Netanyahu on Thursday (local time) following the incident.

According to a White House statement, President Biden described the deaths of the aid workers and the humanitarian crisis in the region as “unacceptable”.

“He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” the handout summarising the discussion read.

The US President conveyed to the Israeli Prime Minister the importance of an immediate ceasefire in aiding the stabilisation and improvement of the humanitarian crisis in the enclave. 

He urged Mr Netanyahu to engage with negotiators to pursue a deal to secure the release of remaining hostages.

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