Australia Summons Israeli Ambassador Over Decision Not to Pursue Charges in Gaza Aid Worker Death

Australia summoned Israel’s ambassador on Thursday and expressed outrage at a decision by the Israeli military not to pursue criminal proceedings over the death of an Australian aid worker in a 2024 airstrike in Gaza, according to Reuters.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had found no basis to investigate the killings of seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity, including Australian Zomi Frankcom. The military said the decision followed a fact-finding and assessment procedure.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the decision “falls far short of the accountability we expect” and that Australia was outraged by it. “Democracies seek, and accept higher standards,” she said. “The Australian government will not stop pressing Israel for justice for Zomi and her colleagues.” Wong said she had told Australia’s envoy in Israel to convey Canberra’s views directly to the Israeli government as it considers its next steps, a call for honest accounting that echoes the duty to answer for what has been entrusted (Luke 12:48).

Reuters reported that the attack drew widespread condemnation from the United States and several allies. Citizens of Britain and Poland, Palestinians, and a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen were among those killed.

Hillel Newman, Israel’s ambassador to Australia, said the investigation had concluded there was no criminal liability for the soldiers involved, although there had been operational failures by the Israeli military. Speaking to reporters in Canberra after meeting Wong, he said: “It was a mistake, in retrospect, but the findings of the court are that there was no criminal intention, no intention to hit at aid workers, and therefore no criminal responsibility.”

Newman said the aid workers’ convoy had deviated from a pre-approved route and may have carried armed personnel, which led the Israeli military to believe it had been taken over by the militant group Hamas.

Reuters reported that more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the Gaza war in 2023, with thousands more killed in Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon. The dead include aid workers, doctors, and journalists, among others.

Israel’s military says its attacks target Hamas and Hezbollah militants, and it has said it opens investigations into some attacks involving civilian deaths.

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