Further legal and diplomatic action could be taken against Israel following the country’s “outrageous” decision not to pursue criminal charges against soldiers who killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six colleagues in Gaza.
Ms Frankcom’s family has expressed its deep disappointment at Israel’s handling of the incident saying it was an “insult” to their sister’s memory to reveal the closure of the case on the same day a humanitarian award was being announced in Zomi’s name.
Relations between both nations are continuing to spiral after Foreign Minister Penny Wong hauled Israel’s ambassador into Parliament House on Thursday to express the government’s fury over the handling of the deadly incident.
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“Australia is outraged by the Israeli government’s decision to not pursue any criminal proceedings against those responsible for killing Zoni Frankum and her World Central Kitchen colleagues,” Senator Wong said following the tense face-to-face meeting.
“The Australian Government learned of Israel’s decision late last night, moments before it was announced on World Humanitarian Day,” she told reporters after her rebuke of Ambassador Hillel Newman.
Speaking in Parliament Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also blasted Israel’s handling of the matter and vowed his Government would “not stop pressing Israel for justice for Ms Frankcom and her colleagues”.
“Israel’s decision to close their investigation without criminal proceedings is an outrage and it falls far short of the accountability that we expect and consistently called for on behalf of Australia,” Mr Albanese said during Question Time.
“Since the tragic killings, the Government has consistently made clear our expectation for transparency, and we’ve pressed for full accountability,” the PM said adding that he had raised the matter.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong on Thursday. Credit: Martin Ollman NewsWire/NCA NewsWire
On Wednesday the Israel Defence Forces announced it had cleared its personnel of any criminal wrongdoing in the April 2024 strike on a humanitarian convoy in Gaza, in which Ms Frankcom was killed along with her fellow aid workers.
The investigation by Israel’s chief military prosecutor found there was “no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct” in the airstrikes on the World Central Kitchen as they delivered humanitarian aid to a warehouse in Gaza.
A defiant Ambassador Newman emerged from Parliament insisting Israel’s investigation process was appropriate while refusing to apologise for the death of Ms Frankcom and her six colleagues, citing legal implications.
“We express deep sorrow and grief with the family of Zomi Frankcom, and I’d like to tell them straightforward: we grieve with you. We are sorry for the circumstances that brought about this death. Any innocent life is a tragedy”.
Zomi Frankcom was killed in a Gaza airstrike. Credit: facebook/TheWest
Asked whether the incident had damaged Israel’s standing in Australia, the Ambassador responded: “Well certainly there are a lot of haters of Israel in Australia. We’ve seen this time and time again”.
Following his diplomatic dressing down, the Israeli Ambassador also suggested the World Central Kitchen aid workers had been careless in the lead up to the deadly airstrikes on April 1, 2024.
“This convoy, which was an aid convoy, decided to put armed personnel on the convoy without telling Israel. So, they added military armed personnel to the convoy,” the Ambassador said.
“Besides that, they deviated from the route that was planned and was pre-approved. There are specific routes for aid in Gaza. It was a war zone, so there are specific routes. They deviated from the route, which was night-time, and they also delayed in their time in their exit.”
Late on Thursday the Frankcom family said it was “deeply disappointed by the decision by Israel’s Military Advocate General to clear their soldiers of criminal wrongdoing in the Gaza strike that killed our beloved Zomi.”
“We and the families of the six other World Central Kitchen aid workers have been waiting for justice for over two years, hoping and calling for an independent criminal investigation,” the family said in a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
“This was not a single, instantaneous strike. Three clearly marked humanitarian vehicles traveling in a humanitarian fire control zone were struck successively as survivors attempted to move from one vehicle to another.”
“For it to be announced on World Humanitarian Day, the day the world pauses to remember those who have lost their lives while helping others, and the same day the Australian Foreign Minister and our family announced a humanitarian award in Zomi’s name, is an insult to my sister’s memory.”
A report by former Australian Defence Force chief Mark Binskin in 2024 found that “a significant breakdown in situational awareness” by the Israeli military caused the strike that killed the aid workers, adding he did not believe they were deliberately targeted.
In a statement released overnight, World Central Kitchen also strongly condemned the Israeli military prosecutor’s account of the deaths of its seven workers, saying it fundamentally disagreed with the decision not to launch criminal investigations.
“There has never been any excuse or justification for the attacks, and there is nothing in this account that does so. The decision is inconsistent with the full truth and deeply offensive.”
“At the time of the lethal attacks, the IDF knew that our team in Gaza was unarmed and posing a threat to nobody. It had full visual clarity on our clearly marked humanitarian vehicles during the extended, multiple airstrikes. It knew our team’s movements, identities and activities in advance.”
“The military investigation conflates different timelines and events, muddies the story and shifts the blame for the IDF’s illegal conduct,” the organisation said, as it vowed to continue to push for an independent commission to investigate the airstrikes.
Former Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti has led calls to expel Israel’s ambassador, a move that the Albanese government is so far resisting, but the Foreign Minister says it will consult with Ms Frankcom’s family on other possible action.
