Australia and Israel’s relationship hits new low after aid worker killed in Gaza

Relations between Australia and Israel have hit a new low after an Australian aid worker was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, prompting the federal government to summon Israel’s top diplomat in Australia to explain the tragic incident.

Melbourne-born aid worker Zomi Frankcom, 43, was among a team of seven who died while distributing food in Gaza with the World Central Kitchen charity, which has now suspended operations in the region and accused Israel of launching a “targeted attack” on its workforce.

A photo that Zomi Frankcom sent her family on Monday as she crossed a checkpoint.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that the country’s forces had carried out the “unintended strike ... on innocent people.”

“Unfortunately in the past day there was a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.

“This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence.”

In a sign of more diplomatic fallout from the deaths, the White House National Security Council co-ordinator John Kirby told reporters the US was outraged by the Israeli airstrike that killed the aid workers.

“Our expectation – and we’ve made this clear to [Israel] – is that they’ll come clean about what they’ve learned, they’ll be fully transparent, and if people need to be held accountable, that they’ll be held accountable.”

Frankcom and her colleagues were the first foreign aid workers to die in Gaza since the beginning of the war, according to the Aid Worker Security Database, which is viewed as the definitive source regarding violent incidents involving aid workers around the world.

Frankcom’s family said they were “reeling in shock” from the loss of their loved one, whom they described as a “kind, selfless and outstanding human being” devoted to helping others.

“She will leave behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love for all those in her orbit,” the family said in a statement.

Praising Frankcom for doing “extraordinarily valuable work” in Gaza, a clearly irate Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “We want full accountability for this because this is a tragedy that should never have occurred.

“We certainly have already contacted the Israeli government directly.”

Zomi Frankcom (front left) in a photo with her family.

Albanese told reporters in Ipswich, Queensland: “Australia expects full accountability for the deaths of aid workers, which is completely unacceptable.

“Aid workers and those doing humanitarian work and indeed all innocent civilians need to be provided with protection.”

The prime minister said DFAT had called in Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong later released a statement saying that “with overwhelming sadness”, Frankcom’s death had been confirmed.

Paying tribute to Frankcom, Wong went on to say the Australian government “condemns this strike. The government has made representations to the Netanyahu government and seeks a thorough and expeditious review.

“We expect full accountability for these deaths. We repeat our demands for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire leading to a sustainable ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and that international humanitarian law be upheld.”

World Central Kitchen, founded by star chef Jose Andres, said Frankcom’s team co-ordinated their movements with the Israel Defence Forces and were travelling in a “deconflicted zone” in armoured cars branded with the charity’s logo.

“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” the charity’s chief executive Erin Gore said.

The aid workers were in the central Gazan town of Deir al-Balah distributing 100 tonnes of food aid brought to Gaza by ship from Cyprus.

The bloodstained passports of three foreign nationals shown in a video shared on social media.Credit: Twitter

“I am heartbroken and appalled that we – World Central Kitchen and the world – lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF,” Gore said.

“The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished.”

As well as Australia, the seven workers were from Poland, the United Kingdom and Palestine and a dual United States-Canadian citizen.

They included Damian Sobol from Poland and Saif Abo Taha from Gaza.

Albanese said the government had a clear position in favour of a “sustainable ceasefire” in the six-month war between Israel and Hamas, which began after Hamas militants stormed into Israel and killed an estimated 1200 people.

Albanese said the government also supported the return of all hostages captured on October 7 and the delivery of more aid to civilians in Gaza, where more than 32,000 people have died since the war began according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

A spokesperson for the IDF said: “Following the reports regarding the World Central Kitchen personnel in Gaza today, the IDF is conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.

“The IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and has been working closely with WCK in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”

The Albanese government broke with Israel to vote in favour of a ceasefire resolution at the United Nations General Assembly in December and last month announced it would restore funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Palestinian territories.

Both moves angered the Israeli government and drew criticism from the Israeli ambassador.

As well as the seven World Central Kitchen team members, an estimated 196 Palestinian aid workers have been killed since the war broke out, according to the Aid Worker Security Database.

Frankcom’s LinkedIn page says she had worked for World Central Kitchen since 2019, having previously spent eight years in various roles with the Commonwealth Bank in Sydney.

Before that, she held roles at Telstra, the University of Technology Sydney and the NSW Department of Health.

She studied at St George Girls High School in Kogarah in Sydney’s south and later undertook a bachelor of psychological science degree at Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology.

Born Lalzawmi Frankcom, she was known as Zomi to her friends and family.

Karuna Bajracharya, who described Frankcom as a dear friend, posted a tribute on Facebook commending her humanitarian efforts and saying she was someone who “risked her life many times to help those in dire need”.

Graphic photos posted on social media by Palestinian photojournalist Mohamed Al Masri showed Frankcom, apparently dead, wearing a World Central Kitchen jacket and with her Australian passport placed on her chest.

The group’s founder, Jose Andres, a celebrated cookbook author and restaurant owner, said in a social media post: “The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now.”

The Australian Council for International Development, the nation’s peak body for aid and humanitarian agencies, said it was truly tragic that Frankcom had died while delivering essential supplies in Gaza and accused Israel of acting recklessly.

“Humanitarian workers in conflict zones should be ensured safety by combatants to carry out life-saving responses,” the council said.

The general delegation of Palestine in Australia said it was “shocked and grieved” by the death of Frankcom and her colleagues, saying: “Humanitarian relief personnel and UN employees must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law, and should never be targeted by attacks,” it said.

with AP, Reuters

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