By The South Asia Times

CANBERRA – Australia has condemned Israel's decision to close its criminal investigation into the 2024 airstrike that killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six World Central Kitchen (WCK) colleagues in Gaza, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong summoning the Israeli ambassador and declaring relations between the two countries are at a "difficult" juncture.

In a strongly worded statement released Thursday, Wong expressed outrage that the Israeli government will not pursue criminal proceedings against those responsible for the deaths. The announcement came on World Humanitarian Day, which Wong described as "especially insulting to Zomi's loved ones, humanitarians and all Australians" .

"This decision falls far short of the accountability we expect," Wong said, noting that the decision came despite Israel Defense Forces admissions that the strikes resulted from "serious failures to follow IDF procedures, mistaken identification and errors in decision-making" .

The findings were confirmed by an Australian government review led by former Defence Force chief Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, which concluded there was a "significant breakdown in situational awareness".

Wong called in Israel's Ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, to convey Canberra's position and has directed Australia's ambassador in Tel Aviv to deliver the same message directly.

"Obviously it's a difficult time in our relationship. We made our views clear about this issue," Wong told reporters after meeting with Newman.

The foreign minister stressed the government does not have confidence in the IDF's investigation process, pointing to unanswered questions including why three separate strikes were carried out on the clearly marked humanitarian convoy — a breach of Israel's own rules of engagement.

"We have an Australian humanitarian worker who was killed not on the first strike, but in the context of three separate strikes on a humanitarian convoy," Wong said.

The Frankcom family expressed "deep disappointment" at the decision, calling for an "independent and credible" investigation rather than relying on what they described as an "internal, opaque process".

"Zomi and her colleagues deserve more than an internal, opaque process that ends with a short statement by the Israeli Military absolving their soldiers of criminal wrongdoing," the family said in a statement, adding that the timing of the announcement on World Humanitarian Day — the same day a humanitarian award in Zomi's name was launched — was "an insult to my sister's memory" .

World Central Kitchen also condemned the decision, stating the IDF "cannot credibly investigate its own conduct" and demanding an independent investigation.

Ambassador Newman defended the investigation's findings, noting that a two-year IDF probe concluded the commanders' decisions "did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct" .

However, Wong rejected the ambassador's explanation, stating: "We do not have confidence in the IDF military Advocate General's process given the many unanswered questions"