No probe over Israel strike that killed Aust aid worker
Lisa Martin |
Israel’s military is launching criminal investigations into two high-profile attacks on Palestinians during the war in Gaza, but not into a strike on a convoy that killed seven aid workers including Australian woman Zomi Frankcom.
The military released the news in a statement on Wednesday that said it had completed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza and made decisions on five cases, including the April 2024 attack on an aid convoy of World Central Kitchen vehicles.
On that incident, the military said there was “no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct that would justify the opening of a criminal investigation”.
The military said it was going ahead with probes into the killings of five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family in February 2024, and of 15 Palestinian paramedics in May 2025, which both prompted global condemnation.
The Australian government and Ms Frankcom’s family have demanded transparency and accountability from Israel over her death on April 1, 2024, when an air strike hit a World Central Kitchen aid convoy in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
The convoy was marked, but the Israeli military initially claimed it was being used by Hamas, before later acknowledging the misidentification and errors in the decision-making process.
Two Israeli officers were dismissed from their positions and three senior officers were formally reprimanded, according to the Israeli military.
Australia has requested audio of the drone strike footage on behalf of the family, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised Ms Frankcom’s death with Israeli President Isaac Herzog during the leader’s visit in February.
Australia spearheaded a declaration to protect humanitarian personnel, which Foreign Minister Penny Wong launched on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, alongside Ms Frankcom’s brother Mal in September 2025.
Both the killing of Rajab in February 2024 and the killing of 15 Palestinian medics in May 2025 gained international attention.
Rajab was killed alongside her relatives while trying to flee Gaza City amid an Israeli offensive.
Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle carrying Hind, who was pinned down in a car for hours, begging Palestinian medics over a mobile phone to send help, while her aunt, uncle and three cousins already lay dead.
When an ambulance finally arrived, contact with the girl and the rescuers themselves was lost.
Twelve days later, the bodies of the girl, her relatives and two ambulance workers were recovered from the area.
The 15 paramedics were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on their vehicles in the southern city of Rafah, then buried them in a mass grave.
The Israeli military initially said it opened fire because the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” on nearby troops without headlights or emergency signals.
But it backtracked from that account after the footage emerged, showing the Red Crescent and Civil Defence teams driving slowly with their emergency vehicle lights flashing and logos visible.
On Wednesday night before the Israeli announcement, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Australian government would continue to press the Israeli government for full accountability over the deaths of Ms Frankcom and her colleagues.
“Two years on from Zomi Frankcom’s death, the pain of her loss remains with us,” Senator Wong said during a speech at Parliament House at an event marking World Humanitarian Day which launched an award in Ms Frankcom’s honour.
“People like Zomi are rare, and their courage deserves to be celebrated.”
with AP and Reuters
AP