Press conference, Adelaide

PENNY WONG, FOREIGN MINISTER: Good afternoon. I am joined today by Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, who as you know has a long and distinguished career in the ADF, including as CDF, and who has served us as a special adviser on Israel’s response to IDF strikes against World Central Kitchen vehicles, which killed Australian Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues.

I’d like to first – I’d like to start by saying we honour the life of Zomi Frankcom. Her selflessness, her courage and her service to others even in the most challenging of circumstances is to be respected and is to be honoured. We mourn her loss, and I again express our deepest sympathies and condolences to her family and to her friends.

I want to start by saying the deaths of Ms Frankcom and her colleagues were inexcusable. We condemn the Israeli strikes that caused them. Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues from World Central Kitchen were killed in an intentional strike by the IDF. It is clear that these deaths were a consequence of a failure of IDF controls, errors in decision-making and misidentification, a failure to comply with senior command direction and a violation of IDF procedures and rules of engagement. As the IDF itself has said, this incident should not have occurred and was a grave mistake.

Israel is bound by international humanitarian law. This includes the protection of civilians and the provision of aid. Israel is bound to observe the principles of IHL in enabling the provision of aid. Israel is bound by international law which requires the protection of aid workers. Demonstrably that did not occur in relation to Zomi Frankcom and her World Central Kitchen colleagues.

Following this incident, a tragic incident, I made clear Australia expected a full and transparent investigation and that there be full accountability. I said that if the investigation found – finds that IDF personnel have not acted in accordance with the law or IDF procedures, that appropriate action should be taken against those personnel and that such action should be made public. And that if the investigation determines that IDF targeting policies and practices have contributed, that urgent changes are made and communicated publicly. I said that clear, practical action is needed to ensure that this tragedy is not repeated. These expectations remain.

The government appointed Air Chief Marshal Binskin as special adviser to ensure that Israel’s response is conducted in a manner consistent with these expectations and the expectations of the Australian people, to provide advice on the sufficiency and appropriateness of steps taken to hold those responsible to account and the measures adopted to prevent such incidents happening again.

I do acknowledge the access that was well provided to Mr Binskin, including at the highest level of the IDF, to facilitate his work. I also acknowledge Israel’s process to date, which is outlined in the report. ACM Binskin indicates that it is broadly in line with the approach that the ADF would take in conducting an investigation. Two officers removed and three reprimanded.

Of course, as the report makes clear, Israel’s process for determining accountability is not over. The Military Advocate General of Israel is still to decide on further action. That is a decision for her and for the Israeli judicial system. However, Australia’s expectation remains that this decision be transparent, and Ms Frankcom’s family, whom I have spoken to, are firmly of the view that further action is necessary, including criminal investigation. And they feel that the disciplinary action taken to date is insufficient.

The Australian Government will continue to press for full accountability, including any appropriate criminal charges, and we will continue to advocate the views of the Frankcom family and the Australian Government to Israel. We do believe an apology should be provided.

I’ve also said that clear, practical action is needed to ensure this tragedy is never repeated. The report by Mr Binskin has identified some steps taken by the IDF since the incident, but more is required.

Gaza remains the deadliest place on earth to be an aid worker. This was not a one-off incident. The UN reports that more than 250 aid workers have been killed since the start of this conflict. And in recent weeks a number of UN vehicles have come under attack. This is not acceptable. And this is why the government is implementing all of Air Chief Marshall Binskin’s recommendations, including working with the UN and the international community to press Israel to reform its coordination and deconfliction with humanitarian organisations working on the ground. We want to ensure that the tragic deaths of Zomi Frankcom and her World Central Kitchen colleagues are not in vain and are never repeated.

I’m engaging with Sigrid Kaag, Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, as well as other partners on what more can be done to improve deconfliction in Gaza but also for future conflicts. And I have asked my officials to work on what role Australia can play internationally to do more to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers.

I have also written to Israeli Foreign Minister Katz about the urgent need for Israel to reform its coordination and deconfliction for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. We want proper protection for aid workers in place, and we want more aid to flow, and we will do all that we are able to achieve this.

Of course, the best way to protect aid workers, civilians, health workers and others is to achieve the release of hostages and increase humanitarian access through a cease fire. The Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand have clearly said together in a statement last week that the human suffering in Gaza is unacceptable and the war must end. Parties to the conflict must agree to the comprehensive ceasefire deal outlined by President Biden and endorsed by the UN Security Council. Delays are costing lives.

In many dozens of engagements that I have had, I have pressed for these outcomes. I have pressed the Netanyahu Government directly, as have our officials. The terrorist organisation Hamas must immediately and unconditionally release hostages, and we are pressing countries with influence over Hamas to help achieve that aim. The Australian Government has also committed $72.5 million to address urgent needs arising out of the conflict in Gaza and the protracted refugee crisis in the region. Australia is using our voice and our vote in institutions – international institutions and forums.

It is more than seven months since we voted with 152 other countries for a ceasefire at the United Nations. And in May Australia voted in support of a two-state solution and aspiration for Palestinian membership of the United Nations. We’ve been clear in our respect for and support for the independence of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. We have imposed sanctions and travel bans on seven Israeli individuals and one Israeli entity and will deny anyone identified as an extremist settler a visa to travel to Australia.

Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas, and nor should aid workers. Australia will not stop looking at ways to support achievement of a ceasefire, to protect civilians, aid workers, to see hostages released and humanitarian access increased.

I’ll ask ACM Binskin to take you through his findings in a little more detail before we go to questions. And at the outset, can I thank him for serving his country again in doing the job I asked him to do.

AIR CHIEF MARSHAL MARK BINSKIN, SPECIAL ADVISER: Thank you, Minister.

Good afternoon. On the 1st of April 2024 Australian Ms Zomi Frankcom and six of her World Central Kitchen colleagues were killed by an Israeli Defence Force’s strike while supporting aid delivery in Gaza. To ensure Zomi’s family, all Australians and the Australian Government could have confidence in Israel’s response to this tragic incident, I was tasked to provide advice on the sufficiency and appropriateness of measures taken by Israel to transparently investigate, report and respond to the events leading to the deaths of Ms Frankcom and her colleagues, including holding those responsible to account.

In conducting the task I engaged directly with the Israeli Defence Forces during a visit to Israel in May. I also engaged with the World Central Kitchen and Solace Global, the United Kingdom company who provided the coordination and personal protection for the international World Central Kitchen team in Gaza. I have to thank them all for their constructive engagement and openly providing me information I required to complete this task. During these discussions, many parties commented on the strong working relationship that had developed between World Central Kitchen and the IDF prior to this incident.

What transpired on the evening of 1 April was complex, and from analysing the information provided by the IDF, World Central Kitchen and Solace Global, appears to have occurred due to a significant breakdown in situational awareness within the IDF from the unexpected presence of armed local security associated with the WCK convoy and a failure within the IDF to fully disseminate and/or read the detailed movement plan approved for that convoy that provided all the details regarding the WCK escort vehicles.

This was further compounded by the lack of real-time communications between the IDF and the World Central Kitchen aid workers in those escort vehicles that could have clarified the situation and likely averted the strikes. Ultimately, however, from the information provided, it appears that errors in IDF decision-making and misidentification, a level of confirmation bias and a failure to comply with the intent of senior command direction led to the death of one WCK worker from the strike on the first vehicle, and that a violation of IDF standard operating procedures and rules of engagement led to the deaths of the remaining six World Central Kitchen aid workers and Solace Global personnel in the subsequent strikes.

In response to this incident, the IDF quickly accepted responsibility for the strikes and directed a fact-finding assessment mechanism – or FFAM – investigation. The findings of this initial investigation were presented to diplomatic representatives in Tel Aviv and World Central Kitchen on 4 April and summarised in a public statement released on the 5th of April. And my conclusions are fairly consistent with what that initial report came out with.

Based on that FFAM investigation, the IDF Chief of General Staff removed two officers from their positions and reprimanded three others, those three others being senior officers. The FFAM investigation is now with the Military Advocate General of Israel to decide whether further action is required against these individuals.

Notwithstanding the conduct of the actual strike itself, in considering Israel’s actions so far, I assess that their acceptance of accountability and investigating, reporting and responding, including holding people to account, has to this point been timely, appropriate and with some exceptions sufficient.

One exception is with regard to the initial sharing of information regarding how the strikes had occurred. It appears that most of the known information was presented to officials in the closed debrief. However, it is notable that the IDF public statement released on 5 April lacked specific detail included in that closed debrief that could have helped reduce the confusion and the speculation. This information was only made public in the following days during media interviews and the like.

In response to this incident the IDF briefed me on a number of changes to their operations. While some of these changes were briefed in detail, other specific operational improvements were not provided to the same level and, therefore, it's difficult to fully assess how important they are or how effective they are in their implementation.

Now before we open for questions, I'd like to say that while conducting this review it was never lost on me or my small team that the catalyst for this task was the tragic death of Zomi and her six colleagues. Everyone I spoke to who knew Zomi and who had interacted with her on the humanitarian tasks that she was doing spoke about her energy and the dedication she had in wanting to help those who were in need. On behalf of my team, I would like to pass my condolences again to the families and friends of Zomi and her colleagues for their significant loss. It’s quite obvious that they will be missed. Thank you. Thanks, Minister.

FOREIGN MINISTER: Thank you. Questions.

JOURNALIST: One of the recommendations is for Israel to reform coordination with humanitarian organisations. What will that look like in terms of your communication with them?

FOREIGN MINISTER: Look, that’s a very good question, and I’m really pleased that you’ve brought that up first, because it seems to me that that is one of the things that can be done to honour Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues and to ensure this doesn’t happen again. And it is clear from Mr Binskin’s report, as it is clear from my engagement with other partners, including the UN, that there is more that needs to be done to ensure what’s described as deconfliction, so the safe access of humanitarian workers which, of course, is a necessary part to dealing with the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and is also required under international law.

So we do think there is more to be done. We do think, as Mark has said in his report, that we should develop stronger – there should be developed stronger protocols between the IDF and NGOs for this conflict which also might assist with future conflicts. The Air Chief Marshal has also gone through some measures that can occur now, and we would urge the Israeli Government and the IDF to work with us and others to try and pick up some of the propositions in this report. It would be of benefit, I think, to civilians and it would demonstrate a real willingness to do the reform that is required to ensure that this does not happen again.

JOURNALIST: Minister, you touched on this but the report suggests that the Israeli Government provide an appropriate apology to Zomi’s family. Have you had discussions about this, and will Israel apologise?

FOREIGN MINISTER: I have obviously had discussions with Ms Frankcom’s family, as has ACM Binskin, and we will continue to advocate on their behalf to the Israeli Government.

JOURNALIST: Has Israel indicated that they will do that?

FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, we will continue to advocate on their behalf to the Israeli Government. I hope they understand the importance of that and I hope that it can be – this request can receive a positive response.

JOURNALIST: There’s obviously been communication with the Israeli Government and the Foreign Minister over there after this incident for now. Will that change after his report comes out? Will your communications change with those departments?

FOREIGN MINISTER: My communication will reflect what I’ve said to you, which is what the report says and what we want to do. We think there is the process within Israel that still has yet to occur to be finalised with the Military Advocate General who, you know, she has to make her decisions. But there is the broader issue of how do we ensure that this doesn’t happen again. And as I said in my opening, this is unfortunately not an isolated incident. We’ve seen 250 aid workers killed during this conflict. We’ve also seen recent events where UN vehicles have been fired upon. It’s clear that more needs to be done, and we would urge the IDF to engage with the UN partners, NGO partners and others to improve those procedures.

JOURNALIST: Is Australia satisfied with Israel’s response to this matter to date? You mentioned [indistinct] report, but are you satisfied as a government with what they’ve done?

FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, our position remains as I said at the outset, which is, you know, we want full transparency and accountability. That process for accountability is not over. Obviously ACM Binskin’s report is not the end of the matter. We’ll continue to press for full accountability, including any appropriate criminal charges.

JOURNALIST: One question on Defence more broadly?

FOREIGN MINISTER: Is there anything –

JOURNALIST: How forthcoming were the IDF with this investigation? Were they easy to work with?

ACM BINSKIN: Very. They were very forthcoming. It did take some time to get into Israel, which you’d appreciate with the Iranian strikes that were going on and then there was Passover, which we respected. But it gave us a chance to talk to Solace Global and World Central Kitchen in that side of it. And when we went in we actually had a fair bit of information which was – made the discussions very open. And they were quite open in the access that we had that we needed to do the task.

JOURNALIST: The Minister mentioned that Zomi Frankcom’s family want further pursuit of justice, including criminal charges. How likely do you think that is on the Israeli side?

ACM BINSKIN: That’s up to the Military Advocate General, the MAG, there. She is independent to the IDF but not independent to the Israeli legal system. It would take a number of months from the time that the FFAM investigation is handed to her to make her decision. Then it’s a decision to – on her on what she may proceed with.

JOURNALIST: In your investigation, do you think that there’s a case either with Israel or in the International Court for criminal proceedings?

ACM BINSKIN: That’s up to the MAG and it’s up to the ICC. It’s not up to me to make that call. And I have to be careful I don’t prejudice any investigation that might occur. I’ve actually been very forward-leaning in the report, but I wouldn’t want to go any further than that without potentially prejudicing anything. But we did speak with the Military Advocate General during the visit, and she was – she’s a very strong person and was adamant in her independence in this.

FOREIGN MINISTER: Anything further on this?

JOURNALIST: Yes, just one question - a former ADF chief says Australia’s Defence Forces are currently stretched too thin and it would be a liability if a conflict did break out in the short term. As a – from the foreign affairs point of view, is the ADF too focused on the next generation rather than the now?

FOREIGN MINISTER: Look, this government since we came to office has focused very closely on what is required to improve the ADF’s capability, where investments have to be made, what more needs to be done.

And you will recall we had a Defence Strategic Review which laid out that approach. And subsequently you’ve seen additional funding through the forward estimates and beyond for defence capability. And that’s as it should be. The Defence Minister and Mr Conroy work very closely with the CDF and other members of the Defence Force leadership to ensure that the ADF is fit for purpose.

JOURNALIST: Minister, may I ask regarding relatives of Australians in Gaza, is the government looking at fast-tracking visas?

FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, look, you know, we’re really conscious of the concern in the community about these issues. We’re really conscious of what is occurring in Gaza and the consequences for people here, including those who have come to Australia. These are matters that Minister Burke I’m sure will work through in the appropriate time.

JOURNALIST: What are the concerns about fast-tracking visas?

FOREIGN MINISTER: I think these are matters that Minister Burke will be working through. Obviously he’s only been sworn into the portfolio recently, and I’m sure he’ll work through these issues carefully.

Anything more? Thanks very much.

ACM BINSKIN: Thank you.

JOURNALIST: Minister, it’s Pablo from SBS.

FOREIGN MINISTER: Sorry, I didn’t realise you were there Pablo, my apologies.

JOURNALIST: That’s okay. Minister, you cited some of the deteriorating situation in Gaza and recent incidents. So, what confidence do you have that the Israeli Government is going to meet some of these requests that the Australian Government is making?

FOREIGN MINISTER: What I would say is Israel, like Australia, is a democracy and Israel, like Australia, accepts the obligations that go with that, which include observing international law, including international humanitarian law. And international humanitarian law does call for the protection of civilians and, in particular, the protection of aid workers. So we are simply reflecting the, you know, existing commitments that Israel has already made as part of the international community. I would note, also, that the IDF itself has made very clear in its public statements that it accepted responsibility for the tragic deaths of Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues. Thanks very much.

ACM BINSKIN: Thank you.