Is Israel targeting aid workers?

Sam Hawley: Israel says it was a mistake. But how does a military manage to bomb a clearly marked aid convoy, killing international workers including Australian woman, Zomi Frankcom. Today, a long-time aid worker, Tim Costello, on why no one trying to deliver aid in Gaza is safe and what the world should do about it. I’m Sam Hawley on Gadigal land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily.

Tim Costello: Tim Costello, I had 17 years at World Vision and went to many conflict zones and went to Gaza before the war.

Sam Hawley: So you’re very well placed to talk about this tragedy.

Penny Wong, Australian foreign minister: I spoke to the Foreign Minister of Israel last night. I expressed the outrage of the nation. I said that the death of any aid worker is outrageous and it is unacceptable.

Anthony Albanese, Australian prime minister: This is a human tragedy that should never have occurred, that is completely unacceptable.

Dora Weekley, friend of Zomi Frankcom: Everyone’s pretty heartbroken. It’s kind of unthinkable to comprehend that people doing good work and helping others would be killed.

News Report: In a statement, the World Central Kitchen says, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations. This is unforgivable.

Sam Hawley: And we’re hearing there some of the outrage over the death of the Australian aid worker, Zomi Frankcom. And let’s discuss that reaction soon. But I just want to start by painting a picture of how this occurred. As you said, you’ve spent such a long time providing aid in conflict zones, in places where disasters have hit. So describe for me what World Central Kitchen would have been doing on the day its vehicles were struck.

Tim Costello: Well, World Central Kitchen were part of the lifeline to keep Gazans alive and from starving. Humans need on average 2,100 calories a day. If you put that in a food basket, it’s about 661 grams of food. And when you’re feeding a population in Gaza of nearly 2 million people, that’s over 3,000 tonnes of food a day. So World Central Kitchen were an organisation dedicated to keeping people alive.

Sam Hawley: And they had unloaded food at a warehouse in central Gaza. They were travelling in clearly marked cars. Does that mean, Tim, the Israelis knew they were there or should have known they were there travelling to that warehouse to provide this food?

Tim Costello: Absolutely. You know, the Israelis control that area of Gaza. They had checked in. Every movement you make is checked in and logged in. There was maximum visibility about who they were, what they were doing, where their warehouse was, why they would be travelling back and forth at first glance. That’s why this is so tragic and so inexplicable.

Sam Hawley: So the Israelis would have known things like GPS coordinates. They would have had very detailed information.

Tim Costello: Absolutely. They are controlling that area and they’ve checked food that has got in there on the trucks to make sure there aren’t weapons or other things. They’re over every detail.

Sam Hawley: But then they’re hit.

Tim Costello: The most terrible and inexplicable happened.

News Report: Some breaking news. An Australian aid worker has reportedly been killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza.

News Report: Zomi Frankcom is among at least seven international aid workers from Australia, Poland, the UK, the US, Canada and a Palestinian man killed in an apparent Israeli strike in Gaza.

News Report: They fired not one but three missiles at three vehicles hundreds of metres apart, killing seven staff from the American aid agency World Central Kitchen.

Tim Costello: A clearly marked visible signage aid vehicle that they know about is hit and seven lives are lost. And the bodies are taken to a Gazan Palestinian hospital and then the story trickles out. These are foreigners, they have foreign passports. What’s going on here? We are all awaiting now what an investigation will explain because it makes no sense. This simply makes no sense.

Sam Hawley: Let’s come to what Israel is saying about all of this in a moment. But you’d know better than most, Tim, it does take a pretty brave or, if you like, selfless person to do this sort of work, to put yourself in harm’s way to help other people. And the tributes, really, they’ve been flowing for this Australian woman. What do we know about Zomi Frankcom? What do you know about her?

Tim Costello: I know that in her local community, already manifesting the finest, deepest, truest values of what all of us aspire to be as Australians, responding to the bushfires, responding through her work with World Central Kitchen to people whose lives are hanging by a thread. The measure of compassion, of big-heartedness and of courage.

Sam Hawley: Zomi, she looked just so positive in a video filmed by World Central Kitchen. She clearly enjoyed the work.

Zomi Frankcom: Hey, this is Zomi and chef Olivier. We’re at the Djerabalaf Kitchen. This is the beautiful, fragrant, aromatic rice that will be served today. Thank you.

Karuna Bajracharya, Friend of Zomi Frankcom: Yeah, we were obviously very worried about her going into this situation, but she’s a classic kind of gung-ho Zomi, probably her only fault. You know, in northern Gaza where there’s nobody delivering aid, so she’s an incredibly brave person, beautiful person.

Anthony Albanese, Australian prime minister: We mourned this fine Australian who has a record of helping out her fellow citizens. She is someone who clearly was concerned about her fellow humanity and someone who put her principles into action.

Sam Hawley: I guess, Tim, the big question here is whether the Israelis mistakenly hit the aid workers or if it was calculated. The Israeli military chief says it was a result of misidentification in complex conditions.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister: I want to be very clear. The strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers. It was a mistake that followed a misidentification at night, during a war, in very complex conditions. It shouldn’t have happened.

Tim Costello: Look, I find it very hard to believe. I say, how do you miscalculate when they have done everything right? How is that possible? And that’s what, you know, triggered for me that it could have easily been me. It could have easily been so many of our colleagues when we’ve done this, you know, many, many times over, relying on and having confidence in the systems that when you identify who you are and what you’re doing, you’re not going to be hit by a rocket. You absolutely are not going to be. So I’m sure, you know, in the investigation we’ll find more details, but I found the comment, you know, well, this happens in war, from Prime Minister Netanyahu, glib.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister: This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and we are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence.

Tim Costello: I thought, gee, that’s smacks of impunity, even recklessness. Now I hope I’m wrong. Maybe the investigation will be thorough, but it certainly has to allow the possibility that someone’s going to be charged, and it’s culpable in a criminal sense.

Sam Hawley: Do you mean charged by Israel?

Tim Costello: Charged by Israel, yeah.

Sam Hawley: Given your experience in providing aid, have you ever felt like you’re in danger, given the communication that you’re meant to have with the government and the military on the ground? Did you always feel like the protections were working?

Tim Costello: Yeah, I always did. I certainly had moments of fear when, you know, you heard gunfire, but I always had the confidence, you know, we’ve communicated, we follow the protocols, they know we’re here, they know what we’re doing, so I never actually had that fear.

Sam Hawley: Well, the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, of course, has expressed the nation’s anger. He’s spoken directly to Netanyahu.

Anthony Albanese, Australian prime minister: To have them killed in this way is completely unacceptable. The targeting of these people is just a tragedy.

Sam Hawley: And Penny Wong, the Foreign Minister, has been equally strong in her language.

Penny Wong, Australian foreign minister: International humanitarian law applies to Israel and that law protects aid workers. I don’t think this can be dismissed in any way and we expect full accountability for these deaths.

Sam Hawley: Can they do more, or is it enough?

Tim Costello: I think the language they’ve used is exactly the right thing and I think it’s much stronger language. I certainly have been one that for the last six months seeing the death toll mount and so many innocent women and children and sort of hearing hand-wringing comments like, well, Israel has a right to defend itself and it has to do that within the rules of international law and thinking that just leaves us all feeling impotent and paralysed watching the death toll mount. It’s not enough.

Sam Hawley: Well, this is all really a worry for the aid going into Gaza because World Central Kitchen has paused operations for now for safety reasons and it’s been providing more than 50% of all the aid going in there. Other groups are finding it pretty difficult to get in. And, of course, Tim, there is concern about famine in Gaza. Remind me, what is famine?

Tim Costello: Well, famine means when up to 20% of the population are food insecure and it literally is that situation where you start to see people who need those 2,100 calories a day getting less than that. And that starts to show not just in losing weight but in other organs within their own bodies starting to shut down. That is just terrible. That is simply terrible. That cannot happen to innocent Gazans. Whatever the barbaric evils, and there are many of Hamas, that cannot happen on this world watch. We have never had such visibility of what’s going on in a war probably in my lifetime. The world simply cannot let famine take hold. The world simply has to act. It has to demand of Israel. You can flood Gaza with food. If the worry is Hamas only are eating, and their fighters, and that’s why we’re slowing it all down. Well, make sure there’s double the food going in so everyone actually is eating and famine isn’t allowed to take hold.

Sam Hawley: All right. So, obviously, Tim, there’s a lot of anger over this strike. But what do you think needs to happen now immediately?

Tim Costello: Well, immediately we have to have assurances that, one, there’s a full and transparent investigation and, secondly, that this is a tipping point to say we need a ceasefire. A ceasefire is the only way to get both the hostages out and to ensure that aid workers are protected. When there’s not a ceasefire, people, these seven, whatever the reason, lose their lives. And, thirdly, we literally have to say no more excuses about just checking trucks and limiting the supply or the distribution. People have to have access to food. Full stop, period. No ifs or buts. They have to have access.

Sam Hawley: And the aid workers, Tim, if there is no ceasefire, are they really safe to continue their work?

Tim Costello: Look, the United Nations says that 198 workers, UN workers, have already died in these six months. I’ve never heard that number in any other conflict that I’m aware of. Even before this tragedy, too many aid workers are dying. So the answer to your question is no, there isn’t safety without a ceasefire. There just isn’t.

Sam Hawley: Tim Costello is the executive director of Micah Australia, an advocacy, aid and development organisation. This episode was produced by Nell Whitehead, with audio production by Anna John. Our supervising producer is David Coady. I’m Sam Hawley. ABC News Daily will be back again tomorrow. Thanks for listening.