Australia 'outraged' after Israeli decision not to prosecute over killing of aid worker in Gaza

What the report says

Australia’s foreign minister has strongly criticised Israel after it decided not to prosecute anyone over the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in Gaza. According to the BBC report, Penny Wong said she was “outraged” by the decision, which she said fell short of the accountability Australia expected. She also said she would summon the Israeli ambassador and press Israel further on the case.

Frankcom worked for World Central Kitchen and was killed in an Israeli airstrike in April 2024 along with six colleagues while delivering aid in Gaza. The BBC reports that Wong described the timing of Israel’s decision as especially offensive because it came on World Humanitarian Day. She said Australia had only learned of the move late the previous night.

The article says Wong pointed to Israeli military findings that acknowledged serious failures in procedures, mistaken identification and decision-making in the strike. It also notes that a review led by Australia’s former defence force chief, Mark Binskin, found serious failures in IDF procedures had contributed to the deaths.

The case has become a wider issue in Australia-Israel relations and part of broader international criticism of the attack on humanitarian workers. In background, the World Central Kitchen strike drew global condemnation because aid teams were operating in a conflict zone and their movement was coordinated. The BBC also notes that Israel has separately said it would investigate the killing of Palestinian child Hind Rajab.