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”.

She said the government had learned of the outcome only moments before it was made public, on World Humanitarian Day, timing she described as especially insulting to Frankcom’s loved ones, to humanitarians, and to all Australians.

Wong said she would call in Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, and had directed Australia’s ambassador in Israel to convey the government’s views directly, as Canberra considered its next steps.

“Democracies seek and accept higher standards,” she said.

Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, appointed as special adviser to the government after the strike, found in 2024 that the attack resulted from serious failures to follow IDF procedures, mistaken identification, and errors in decision-making. Israel dismissed two officers and reprimanded others in the weeks after the strike.

Australia has since requested audio from the drone footage on behalf of the family, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised the case with President Isaac Herzog during his visit in February.

Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson said Frankcom should never have been killed and described the news from Israel as “incredibly concerning”. He said he would seek a full briefing before commenting further.

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said Newman should be expelled. Greens leader Larissa Waters had earlier told ABC Radio that expulsion should be on the table.

World Central Kitchen rejected the IDF’s account of the strike as deeply offensive, saying the military could not credibly investigate its own conduct. The organisation renewed its call for an independent commission of inquiry.