Australian aid worker killed: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade requests a meeting with Israel’s ambassador
Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, has been requested for a call-in by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade over the death of Zomi Frankcom.
Zomi Frankcom Image: LinkedIn
Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom has been killed in an Israeli air strike while delivering food in Gaza, prompting demands from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for accountability.
The Israeli military said it was investigating after reports emerged four foreign aid workers had been killed in Gaza.
“We want full accountability for this, this is a tragedy that should never have occurred,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Queensland on Tuesday.
The department was “urgently” investigating the incident, he added.
Ms Frankcom’s social media pages say she worked for World Central Kitchen, a charity founded by chef Jose Andres, which delivers meals to people displaced during humanitarian emergencies.
World Central Kitchen board member Robert Egger wrote in a Facebook post: “Sending love, sorrow and solidarity to my brothers and sisters at World Central Kitchen.
“Viva Dear, Caring Zomi Frankcom and her courageous colleagues.”
Photos posted on social media show the woman’s bloodied body with an Australian passport placed on her chest.
She has been described by loved ones on social media as a “dear friend” who had “risked her life many times to help those in dire need”.
“Rest in peace our beautiful sister… xox,” a friend wrote.
Mr Albanese said his government has supported a “sustainable ceasefire”.
“I’m very concerned about the loss of life that is occurring in Gaza,” he told ABC radio.
The World Central Kitchen posted on X:
“We’ve called for the release of hostages and there have been far too many innocent lives, Palestinian and Israeli, lost during the Gaza-Hamas conflict.”
The other dead aid workers were placed alongside the Australian woman and were pictured with British and Polish passports.
The nationality of the fourth aid worker is not yet known.
The IDF issued a statement sayin: “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 Australian Council for International Development said it expressed its deepest condolences to the family of Ms Frankcom.
“It is truly tragic that an Australian aid worker, working to provide food to starving civilians, has been killed in this fashion,” chief executive Marc Purcell said.
World Central Kitchen said it was suspending its aid operations in Gaza after seven of its workers were killed overnight.
“World Central Kitchen is pausing our operations immediately in the region. We will be making decisions about the future of our work soon,” said Erin Gore, CEO of the US-based organisation.
AAP
Newsflash : Gaza is a WAR zone.. that means bullets, missiles, deaths which part of that is hard to understand?
Also does the labour governement always call the president of a country where Australians are harmed in a war?.. Afghanistan? Syria? Irak?Yemen?.. and how about Australians on death row like ..say China?
or is only where jews are involved??
We [Australia] advise:
Reconsider your need to travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories overall due to the volatile security situation, including the threat of terrorism, armed conflict and civil unrest.
Higher levels apply in some areas.
Frankly, I think it ridiculous that PM Albanese wants full accountability for the death of Zomi Frankcom, as unfortunate as it is. She is, after all, in Gaza – a war zone – while giving good assistance in the way she did. It obviously goes with the territory, the possibility of death, even as an aid worker. How can Albanese or anyone else expect otherwise?