Arabic version: عائلة فرانكوم تدين قرار الجيش الإسرائيلي بشأن الضربة القاتلة

According to ABC News, the family of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom has condemned the Israeli military’s decision not to pursue criminal charges against commanders who ordered the 2024 strike that killed her and six other World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza. In a statement issued by her brother Mal, the family said it was “deeply disappointed” after spending two years seeking justice and calling for an independent criminal investigation.

Frankcom was killed on April 1, 2024, while helping deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza. The World Central Kitchen convoy was travelling in three armoured vehicles marked with the organisation’s logo through an area declared a “humanitarian fire control zone”, while coordinating movements with the Israel Defense Forces. An Israeli drone fired three missiles at the convoy, striking each vehicle in succession as survivors of the initial attack moved between cars.

The family said the victims deserved more than “an internal, opaque process” ending with an Israeli military statement absolving soldiers of criminal wrongdoing. They called for transparency and an independent judicial assessment of criminal responsibility for international humanitarian law violations. The family also cited the follow-up strikes and reported concerns about one officer involved in the incident.

An Australian investigation led by retired defence chief Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin found the first vehicle was misidentified because of factors including armed security nearby, confirmation bias, and a failure within the IDF to fully disseminate or read the convoy’s approved movement plan. It found the subsequent strikes breached IDF procedures and rules of engagement. Two IDF officers were fired after the attack and others were reprimanded.

The announcement was made on World Humanitarian Day, shortly after the family joined Foreign Minister Penny Wong at Parliament House to launch a humanitarian award in Frankcom’s name. Mal Frankcom called the timing “an insult to my sister’s memory”. Wong said she had no confidence in the IDF’s findings and called in Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, to explain the decision.