Gaza Aid Workers Inquest May Examine UK and Israeli Role

An inquest into the deaths of three British aid workers killed in Gaza could expand to examine the actions of Israeli military authorities and the possible involvement of British surveillance or military equipment, following a pre-inquest hearing in England.

John Chapman, 57, Jim Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, were killed in April 2024 when vehicles carrying aid workers were struck by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. The attack also killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and workers from Poland, Palestine and the United States.

The families of the three British men have asked the coroner to examine the circumstances surrounding the strike as broadly as possible. Their lawyers say they want answers not only about the decisions made by the aid organization and the security company involved in the convoy, but also about the Israeli military’s actions, British intelligence or surveillance activity and the origin of the weaponry used.

Coroner considers widening the Gaza inquest

Maria Voisin, the senior coroner for Avon, indicated at a pre-inquest review that the scope of the investigation would likely extend beyond the organizations responsible for operating and protecting the aid convoy.

Voisin said she was “minded” to designate the Israel Defense Forces and Colonel Nochi Mendel, identified as the officer who ordered the strikes, as interested parties in the inquest.

In an inquest, an interested party is generally an individual or organization considered sufficiently connected to the death or the circumstances surrounding it to have a formal role in the proceedings. Relatives of a person who died can also have this status.

The possible designation of the IDF and Mendel would give the inquest a wider framework for examining decisions made by Israeli authorities before and during the attack.

Voisin emphasized that the investigation remained at an early stage and that its precise scope had not been finalized. She said she was open-minded about which issues should ultimately be examined.

“It’s very much a case of throwing the net wide at the moment,” the coroner said.

What happened to the aid convoy in April 2024

The three British men were traveling as part of an aid operation in Gaza when the vehicles they were using were hit by an airstrike in April 2024.

The victims were working in connection with an international humanitarian operation at a time when Gaza was experiencing a severe Humanitarian Crisis and intense military operations.

The deaths prompted international condemnation and renewed questions about the protection of humanitarian personnel operating in conflict zones.

Israeli military authorities subsequently examined the incident. However, Israeli authorities said last month that they would not open criminal investigations into the strikes.

The decision also concerned the deaths of Frankcom and the other aid workers killed in the attack. The governments of the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada described the Israeli decision as “shameful.”

The absence of a criminal investigation in Israel has become an important issue for the British families because it potentially leaves the inquest as one of the principal avenues through which the circumstances of the deaths can be examined.

Families want the Israeli military’s role examined

The families of Chapman, Henderson and Kirby have argued that a meaningful investigation must consider the decisions that led to the attack itself.

Lawyers representing the families told the pre-inquest review that it may be necessary to seek evidence from Israeli military authorities, including senior personnel connected with the operation.

The families acknowledge that obtaining cooperation from Israeli authorities could prove difficult. Their lawyers have therefore asked British ministers to consider applying diplomatic or political pressure if necessary to obtain relevant information.

The investigation could potentially examine military planning, information available to those involved in the decision-making process and the circumstances in which the convoy was identified and targeted.

Such questions are particularly important in an inquest because its purpose is to establish the circumstances surrounding a person’s death rather than simply to determine whether a particular organization or individual should face criminal punishment.

Possible British military connection

Another major issue for the families concerns the role that British military activity may have played in the events of April 2024.

Pete Weatherby KC, representing Henderson’s family, told the hearing that a Royal Air Force surveillance aircraft spent approximately five hours over Gaza on the day of the attack. According to the family’s written submission, the aircraft appeared to return to its base only minutes before the airstrikes were launched.

The families want to establish what surveillance information, if any, was collected by the aircraft concerning the aid convoy and whether any relevant information was passed to Israeli authorities.

The existence of British surveillance activity does not by itself establish that the United Kingdom had any role in the strike. The question for the inquest is whether information gathered by British military assets could be relevant to understanding the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

The families are seeking clarity over what the aircraft observed, what information was retained and what information may have been communicated to other authorities.

Could UK-made weapons be examined?

The potential origin of the weaponry used in the strike is another issue the families want the inquest to investigate.

Weatherby told the hearing that determining whether the weapons involved were manufactured in Britain was a matter of public concern and of great importance to Henderson’s family.

If evidence established that British-made military equipment was involved, the families want the inquest to consider what relevance that fact might have to the circumstances of the deaths.

At this stage, however, the inquest has not established that British-made weapons were used in the attack. The question is one of the issues the families are asking the coroner to investigate.

The issue also raises broader questions about Britain’s relationship with military operations in Gaza, including the movement and use of equipment originating from the United Kingdom. Any conclusions would depend on evidence obtained during the investigation.

Comparison with the Dawn Sturgess case

Weatherby compared the circumstances surrounding the British aid workers’ deaths with the inquest into the death of Dawn Sturgess, who died in Salisbury after exposure to the nerve agent Novichok.

In the Salisbury case, the High Court ruled that the absence of a criminal investigation by Russian authorities, combined with the strong public concern surrounding Sturgess’s death, supported expanding the scope of the investigation.

Weatherby’s comparison was intended to support the argument that a British inquest should be capable of examining a wider range of circumstances when authorities in another country do not conduct a criminal investigation into an international incident involving a British citizen.

The comparison does not determine the outcome of the Gaza inquest. The coroner will decide which issues fall within the appropriate scope of the proceedings based on the evidence and the legal framework governing the investigation.

Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence could face inquiries

The proposed expansion of the inquest could bring several British government bodies into the investigation.

Lawyers are expected to seek information from the UK Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence, alongside inquiries directed at Israeli authorities. The Israeli defence ministry could also be subject to inquiries as part of the expanded investigation.

The Israeli defence company Elbit Systems is also understood to be among the organizations from which information may be sought.

The purpose of seeking information from these bodies would be to establish the factual circumstances surrounding the deaths, including information about military equipment, surveillance and communications that could be relevant to the attack.

Whether the organizations provide information, and the extent of any cooperation, could have a significant impact on how comprehensively the inquest is able to reconstruct events.

Families seek answers about decisions leading to the strike

Neil Henderson, Jim Henderson’s father, said the family hoped the coroner would conduct a thorough investigation covering the decisions and policies that preceded the attack.

The family also wants the investigation to establish whether British authorities or military equipment originating in Britain played any role in the circumstances of Jim’s death.

Tayab Ali, who represents the Kirby family, said the family was pleased that the coroner had taken its concerns into account and expanded the scope of the inquiry to include those responsible for the actions that caused James Kirby’s death.

Ali said after the hearing that information from Israeli authorities would be crucial to establishing how and why Kirby was killed.

The families’ focus reflects the central purpose of the inquest: establishing as fully as possible the circumstances that led to the deaths rather than limiting the examination to the immediate impact of the airstrike.

Why the investigation could be difficult

Investigating a military strike in an active or recently active conflict zone presents significant practical challenges. Relevant evidence may be located in several countries or held by military organizations that operate under different legal systems.

The ability of an English coroner to obtain evidence from foreign military authorities is also different from the authority available to a domestic criminal investigation. Cooperation from overseas institutions may depend on diplomatic engagement and the willingness of those institutions to provide information.

There is also the challenge of reconstructing events from April 2024 using communications, surveillance records, military information, witness evidence and other material that may be held by different organizations.

Those difficulties make the coroner’s decision about the scope of the inquest particularly important. A broader investigation could allow more questions to be examined, but obtaining answers to those questions may still depend on the availability and disclosure of evidence.

What happens next

A further pre-inquest review is scheduled to take place in March. No date has yet been set for the final hearing.

Before that hearing, the parties are expected to continue addressing the scope of the investigation and the information that may be required from British and Israeli authorities.

The coroner has not yet closed the door on any particular line of inquiry. Instead, the preliminary proceedings indicate that the investigation could encompass the aid convoy, the security arrangements, Israeli military decision-making, British surveillance activity and the possible origin of military equipment.

For the families of Chapman, Henderson and Kirby, the central objective is to establish the full circumstances surrounding their deaths. The eventual findings will depend on the evidence that can be obtained and examined through the inquest.

The proceedings could also have wider significance for questions surrounding the protection of humanitarian workers, the responsibilities of military forces during armed conflict and the ability of national authorities to investigate deaths involving their citizens when the events occur overseas.