Israel accuses Wong of ‘misrepresenting’ aid worker deaths report

Tensions between Israel and the Australian government have intensified following the release of a high-profile report into the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom as Israeli officials accused Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong of misrepresenting the findings.

Israeli officials were angered by Wong’s response to former Australian Defence Force chief Mark Binskin’s report on Friday, believing she overemphasised its negative conclusions and downplayed more positive aspects.

Israeli officials were especially incensed that Wong described the April killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers as an “intentional strike” on Friday when Binskin’s report affirmed the Israel Defence Forces’ initial finding that workers were not deliberately targeted and their deaths were a result of procedural failures.

In its first statement since the report’s release, the Israeli embassy in Canberra said the IDF had taken “full responsibility for the grave mistakes that led to the tragic incident”, but stopped short of delivering an official apology recommended by Binskin and backed by the Albanese government.

“The Australian government’s statement about the report regrettably included some misrepresentations about omitted crucial details with respect to the manner in which the report was conducted, the degree of co-operation and openness exhibited by the IDF, and even with respect to certain aspects of the tragic incident itself,” the embassy said.

“The report explicitly reaffirms that the IDF is a professional and disciplined army, with similar legal views, standards and controls in place to mitigate the risks of war, like the ADF [Australian Defence Force].”