Australian aid worker Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom reported killed in Gaza

Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom rang her brother just after passing through a Gaza checkpoint to tell him she was safe. Hours later he received a call that she had died in an Israeli strike.

Zomi Frankcom, Australian Aid worker with World Central Kitchen. Source - Twitter

The family of an Australian aid worker killed in Gaza have spoken of their shock at the news of her death in an Israeli air strike

Lalzawmi Frankcom, known to her friends and colleagues as “Zomi” was among five aid workers with World Central Kitchen who were killed in the strike on a vehicle south of central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah.

Her brother Mal Frankcom said he had just spoken to his sister last night before and after she passed through a checkpoint.

She was going through a checkpoint and said something like “wish us well, because that’s the most dangerous part,” Mr Frankcom told The Australian.

Zomi then contacted Mal to say she had arrived safely on the other side.

“Then I received a call from (Australian authorities) telling us the news and telling us we might see her name in the media,” Mr Frankcom said.

His wife Silvana Kalache described Zomi as an “outstanding woman”.

Raymond Reade-Majaw, who described himself as a friend of the family, said “her vivacious, friendly nature made her many friends all over the world”.

He said her late mother Rini was from the Mizo tribe of North East India and moved to Australia when she married Zomi’s father, Sydney man Paul who now lives in Shillong - a town in Northeast India.

“We are all saddened by her sudden demise and she will be greatly missed,” he said.

Anthony Albanese called for “full accountability” over Ms Frankcom’s death.

Speaking from Ipswich, he said that the Department of Foreign Affairs had requested a meeting with the Israeli ambassador to Australia to explain how aid workers had been caught in the reported air strike that killed Ms Frankcom and four other humanitarians.

“This is just completely unacceptable, Australia expects fully accountability for the deaths of aid workers,” the Prime Minister told reporters in Queensland.

“This news today is tragic, DFAT has also requested a call in from the Israeli Ambassador to Australia as well. We want full accountability for this, because this is a tragedy that should never have occurred.

“Zomi Frankcom was an Australian aid worker, working for the World Central Kitchen, she was doing extraordinarily valuable work.

“This is someone volunteering to provide aid through this charity for people who are suffering tremendous deprivation in Gaza.

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

Mr Albanese said that Australia had contacted the Israeli government directly regarding the death of aid worker Zomi Frankcom and that her death is an attack “beyond any reasonable circumstances”.

He expressed his condolences to Ms Frankcom’s family, friends and fellow aid workers.

“I didn’t have the honour of knowing her but the sort of values that are shown by someone going into a very dangerous place in order to assist mankind … it says everything about the character of this young woman,” he said.

“Wherever there are difficulties in the world you will find Australians helping out, it’s something about our character that comes to the fore during the most difficult times.

“When you look at the number of innocent lives who have been lost in Gaza and in Israel it is completely unacceptable.

“We’ve called for a political solution, that means a two-state solution to benefit in the long-term.”

Ms Frankcom had reportedly worked at Commonwealth Bank and UTS prior to joining World Central Kitchen.

Her LinkedIn details her as a Senior Manager at World Central Kitchen’s Asia Operations, where she has worked since 2018.

She had been vocal about support for aid in Gaza, having been quoted in NPR and NBC as recently as last month.

Ms Frankcom had previously worked in Pakistan and Morocco for the World Central Kitchen.

WKC founding board member Robert Egger paid tribute to Ms Frankcom.

“Sending love, sorrow, and solidarity to my brothers and sisters at World Central Kitchen,” he said in a FaceBook post.

“Viva Dear, Caring Zomi Frankcom and her courageous colleagues.”

Karuna Bajracharya, who refers to Frankcom as a “dear friend”, said the aid worker was well known in the NSW town of Braidwood and that she helped provide free meals and aid during the Black Summer bushfires.

“Zomi risked her life many times to help those in dire need, yet our cowardly politicians don’t even dare to risk their own careers by speaking up against Israel and the USA’s 6 months of genocide,” Mr Bajracharya wrote on Facebook.

“Rest in peace our beautiful sister.”

WCK’s Zomi & Chef Oli are in our new Deir al-Balah kitchen where our team is cooking thousands of portions of rice with beef & vegetable stew today. We’re expanding this space so we can increase the amount of meals we produce for families in central Gaza daily. #ChefsForThePeoplepic.twitter.com/dSO7GrJSOv

— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) March 25, 2024

The aid workers’ driver was also killed in the strike, which happened after the workers helped deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza that had arrived hours earlier by ship, health officials in Gaza said.

A photo shared online shows Ms Franckom’s body with her passport laid on her chest.

Zomi Frankcom, had worked with World Central Kitchen for around six years. Picture: Twitter.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the reports were “very distressing”

“(DFAT) is urgently seeking to confirm reports that an Australian aid worker has died in Gaza,” a DFAT spokesperson said. “These reports are very distressing.”

“We have been clear on the need for civilian lives to be protected in this conflict.

“We have been very clear that we expect humanitarian workers in Gaza to have safe and unimpeded access to do their lifesaving work.

“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that DFAT was “urgently investigating” the reported deaths.

“I’m very concerned about the loss of life that is occurring in Gaza,” he said on ABC radio earlier on Tuesday. “My government has supported a sustainable ceasefire. We’ve called for the release of hostages. And there have been far too many innocent lives of Palestinian and Israeli lost during the Gaza-Hamas conflict,” he said.

World Central Kitchen is a charity started up by celebrity chef Jose Andres, that addresses food insecurity in disaster areas. The other aid workers killed were from Poland, Ireland and the UK.

Footage showed the bodies of the five dead at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah. Several of them wore protective gear with the charity’s logo. Staff showed the passports of three of the dead – British, Australian and Polish. The nationality of the fourth aid worker was not immediately known.

The workers’ car was hit by an Israeli strike just after crossing from northern Gaza after helping deliver aid, Mahmoud Thabet, a paramedic from the Palestinian Red Crescent who was on the team that brought the bodies to the hospital, told The Associated Press.

World Central Kitchen described the deaths as a “tragedy.”

“This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER,” the charity said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Today @WCKitchen lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza. I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people…angels…I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They… https://t.co/rM3xbsiQ1Q

— Chef José Andrés 🕊️🥘🍳 (@chefjoseandres) April 1, 2024

Chef Andres said his charity “lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza. I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family.”

The Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement it was “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 IDF said.

More to come.