Israeli ambassador summoned over Frankcom ruling

Australia has called in Israel’s ambassador after the Israel Defense Forces ruled out a criminal investigation into the 2024 drone strikes that killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her World Central Kitchen colleagues in Gaza.

The IDF announced late on Wednesday that it had completed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza and reached decisions in five cases, including the April 2024 attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy south of Deir al-Balah.

It found “no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct” to justify opening a criminal investigation, while acknowledging serious failures in the targeting process. Soldiers had mistakenly believed the vehicles were carrying Hamas operatives, it said.

Criminal investigations will proceed in two other cases: the deaths of five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family in February 2024, and the killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics in May 2025.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the decision fell “far short of the accountability we expect”.