Dfat looking into reports of an Australian aid worker's death

The Australian government has confirmed that it is looking into reports that Zomi Frankcom, an aid worker from Australia, was killed in a strike in Gaza.

In an interview on ABC radio Brisbane, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated:

Four international aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity and their Palestinian driver were killed in an airstrike, according to Gaza medical officials. The workers had assisted in delivering food and other supplies to the northern part of Gaza.

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The British, Australian, and Polish passports of three deceased individuals were displayed by Palestinians in a video. At this time, it is unknown what country the fourth aid worker is from. The workers were in a three-car convoy crossing out of northern Gaza when an Israeli missile struck, according to Mahmoud Thabet, a Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic who was part of the team that transported the bodies to the hospital and spoke to The Associated Press. According to Thabet, WCK personnel informed him that the team was returning to Rafah in the south after coordinating the distribution of recently delivered aid from the north.

The family of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom has received the sincere condolences of the Australian Council for International Development, which is the apex body representing aid and humanitarian organisations.

“It is truly tragic that an Australian aid worker, working to provide food to starving civilians, has been killed in this fashion,” said ACFID chief executive Marc Purcell. 

Meanwhile, World Central Kitchen is devastated to confirm seven members of our team have been killed in an IDF strike in Gaza.

The WCK team was traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle.

Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.

The seven killed are from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine.

“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. 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,” said Erin.

The IDF says it is “carrying out an in-depth examination at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”

World Central Kitchen is pausing our operations immediately in the region. We will be making decisions about the future of our work soon.

The Jewish Council of Australia calls on state and federal governments in Australia to immediately cut all military ties and place sanctions on Israel amid the escalating violence in Gaza.

On 28 March, the International Court of Justice ordered additional provisional measures in the case brought by South Africa against Israel for violating the Genocide Convention. Three days earlier, the UN Security Council voted for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

In light of these developments, and the worsening conditions imposed on Palestinians in Gaza, in particular the spread of starvation due to Israel’s blockade of aid, we urge the Australian Government to do everything in its power to stop Israel committing the crime of genocide. The Australian Government should be using all available forms of diplomatic pressure, including sanctions and travel bans on extremist settlers and those suspected of war crimes . Today’s tragic news that an Australian aid worker has been killed by an Israeli air strike deepens the need for a stronger response from our government.

The ICJ has ordered Israel to “[t]ake all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay” the “unhindered provision at scale” of basic services and humanitarian aid—including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation products, and medical supplies and care to the people of Gaza.

This order has legal implications for Australia, which must comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention by taking all reasonable measures to ensure Israel allows aid into Gaza and to achieve an immediate ceasefire.

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