CANBERRA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Australia has summoned the Israeli ambassador in protest over the Israeli military’s decision not to pursue criminal action over the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her colleagues in an Israeli strike in Gaza in April 2024.
The Australian government described the Israeli decision as a “grave insult” to Frankcom’s family and to humanitarian workers, saying it falls short of the accountability required over the killing of aid staff.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said relations between Australia and Israel are going through a “difficult” period, expressing her government’s “deep disappointment” and “anger” over Israeli authorities’ decision to close the criminal investigation.
Wong said the Australian government was informed of the decision late the night before it was announced, coinciding with World Humanitarian Day. She said the timing of the announcement was a “grave insult” to Frankcom’s family, humanitarian workers and all Australians.
The Israeli military announced Wednesday that it had found no basis to justify opening criminal investigations into the killing of seven staff members of the World Central Kitchen charity in Gaza in April 2024.
Frankcom was killed alongside six colleagues while they were distributing food and water in the enclave. The Israeli strike killed seven aid workers, including three British nationals, a Palestinian, a Polish citizen, a dual US-Canadian citizen and the Australian aid worker.
The attack on the aid workers sparked widespread international outrage at the time, along with demands to guarantee the safety of humanitarian teams and relief workers in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later acknowledged that the military had killed the aid workers “unintentionally,” before the army formally announced that no criminal investigations would be opened into their deaths.
Wong said Zomi Frankcom “represented the best of Australia,” stressing that her courage deserves to be celebrated and that her family deserves justice. She said the decision to close the investigation falls “far below” the level of accountability expected.
