Key Points
- An Australian aid worker is among seven employees from the World Central Kitchen killed in Gaza.
- The workers' car was hit by an Israeli strike, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was investigating the reports.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the Australian government is demanding "full accountability" with a request for a call-in from the Israeli ambassador over the death of Australian aid worker Lalzawmi Frankcom in what her employers described as a "targeted" Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
"We want full accountability for this, this is a tragedy that should never have occurred," Albanese told reporters on Tuesday.
was one of seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) organisation killed in the airstrike in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah.
World Central Kitchen says airstrike against aid staff 'targeted'
WCK confirmed seven of its staff — from Poland, the United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, and a Palestinian — were killed in what it said was an "IDF (Israel Defence Forces) airstrike".
The NGO said its team was travelling in a deconflicted zone in two armoured cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft-skinned vehicle.
The body of a worker from the NGO World Central Kitchen who was reportedly killed in a missile strike on a convoy lies at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, 1 April 2024. Source: EPA / EPA
"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,” said World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore.
"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 Gore.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported the workers' car was hit by an Israeli strike after crossing from northern Gaza having helped deliver aid that had arrived hours earlier on a ship from Cyprus.
Albanese said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) had also requested a call-in from the Israeli ambassador to Australia.
"We want full accountability for this because this is a tragedy that should never have occurred," he said.
Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom is among seven employees from the World Central Kitchen killed in Gaza. Credit: Supplied
"The truth is that this is beyond any reasonable circumstances that someone going about providing aid and humanitarian assistance should lose their life and there were four aid workers as well as a Palestinian driver in this vehicle.
"This is a human tragedy that should never have occurred."
A picture posted on Palestinian journalist Ahmad Ibraa's social media accounts of three passports reportedly belonging to the aid workers. Credit: Ahmad Ibraa/X
Hagari also said he had spoken with the group's founder Jose Anders and expressed deepest condolences.
"We also express sincere sorrow to our allied nations who have been doing and continue to do so much to assist those in need," he said in the statement.
The Israel Defence Forces earlier said it was conducting a thorough review to understand the circumstances of the 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," it said in a statement.
World Central Kitchen board member Robert Egger paid tribute to Frankcom and her colleagues.
"Sending love, sorrow and solidarity to my brothers and sisters at World Central Kitchen," he said on Facebook.
"Viva Dear, caring Zomi Frankcom and her courageous colleagues."
DFAT said in a statement earlier: "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."
WCK delivers food relief and prepares meals for people in need. It said last month it had served more than 42 million meals in Gaza over 175 days.
Frankcom was featured in a post from the organisation last week showcasing the food it was providing to the people of Gaza. The UN has repeatedly warned of the risk of famine in Gaza from an ongoing siege imposed by Israel in response to the Hamas attacks on 7 October.
In a post on social media, WCK described the incident as a tragedy.
WCK founder, celebrity chef Jose Andres, said that his group "lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF airstrike in Gaza".
"I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family," Andres said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"They are not faceless ... they are not nameless. 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."
Videos from Palestinian journalists show the bodies of four people at a hospital wearing bulletproof vests bearing the logo of the non-governmental organisation.
Andres started WCK in 2010 by sending cooks and food to Haiti after an earthquake. The organisation has since delivered food for communities hit by natural disasters, refugees at the US border, healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and people in conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
On Sunday, it sent three ships with 400 tonnes of food — enough food to prepare more than one million meals — from a port in Cyprus to north Gaza.
"While Operation Safeena is getting desperately needed food to hungry Palestinians, the opening of land crossings is the primary way to avert famine," it said in a statement.
- with Reuters
