Israel’s conclusion that its military didn’t commit a criminal act when it killed a Canadian and six other aid workers in Gaza two years ago is unacceptable, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Thursday. Anand commented a day after Israel’s military prosecutor said it had decided against a criminal investigation into April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of World Central Kitchen vehicles. The strikes killed Jacob Flickinger, a military veteran from Quebec, along with a Palestinian, and aid workers from the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. The aid group, which distributes food in Gaza, said at the time it had co-ordinated with the military over the convoy’s movement. The vehicles, which had the group’s logo on their roofs visible from the air, were left incinerated and mangled. Wednesday’s military statement said individuals in the vehicles were mistakenly identified as armed Hamas operatives. But it concluded that the commanders’ decisions “did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.” At the time, two officers were removed from their positions and three others were reprimanded. Former prime minister Justin Trudeau called for an independent and rapid investigation following the aid workers’ deaths, and disputed a suggestion by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at that time that collateral deaths are a normal part of war. “It shouldn’t just happen when you have aid workers for an extraordinary organization like World Central Kitchen, risking their lives every day in an incredibly dangerous place, to deliver food to people who are experiencing a horrific humanitarian catastrophe,” Trudeau said. On Thursday Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said it is “unacceptable” the Israeli military did not pursue a criminal investigation into the death of Flickinger and his colleagues. “Serious failures were identified in the conduct of the strike, and closing the case without further accountability leaves their families without the answers they have sought for more than two years,” Anand wrote on the platform X. “Canada expects international humanitarian law to be upheld and will continue pressing for a full accounting of what happened, along with justice for the seven workers who were killed and their families.” Anand’s statement did not mention whether Canada would summon Israel’s ambassador. World Central Kitchen responded in a statement saying the military’s account of the strike was untrue, “conflates different timelines and events, muddies the story and shifts the blame.” It called for an independent investigation. The news also prompted immediate outrage in Australia, where Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the removals and reprimands of officers weren’t sufficient accountability for the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom. “This is despite Israel Defense Forces admissions that the IDF strikes on Zomi and her colleagues’ vehicles were the result of serious failures to follow IDF procedures, mistaken identification and errors in decision-making,” says a statement from Wong posted on the Australian government website. She said the decision was “especially insulting” because it was announced on World Humanitarian Day. “I will call in Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman and have directed Australia’s Ambassador to Israel to convey our views directly to Israel as the Australian Government considers next steps,” Wong said. The Israeli military also announced Wednesday it had decided not to take criminal action over the killings of four staffers from Doctors Without Borders in two separate instances in November 2023 and February 2024. Also Thursday, Ottawa joined European peers in condemning Israeli moves to pursue a major settlement project in the West Bank that would further divide the Palestinian territories that Israel occupies. “International law is clear that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal. This is the position of the international community reaffirmed by the United Nations Security Council,” reads the statement signed by Germany, the U.K. and others. “Businesses should not consider bidding for construction tenders. They should be aware of legal and reputational consequences, including the risk of involving themselves in serious breaches of international law.” By Dylan Robertson With files from The Associated Press
