Britain, Australia, and Canada have jointly condemned the Israeli military’s decision not to open a criminal investigation into the April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of aid vehicles in Gaza, killing seven humanitarian workers from the US-based World Central Kitchen (WCK) organisation.
The countries described the decision as ‘shameful’ and stated that the victims and their families deserve justice and accountability. The joint statement emphasized that the incident is one of many in Gaza where there has been no accountability, and humanitarian workers continue to risk their lives in perilous conditions.
The Australian government expressed ‘outrage’ over the decision, while relatives of the Australian victim, Zomi Frankcom, said that he deserved more than an ‘internal, opaque process’ that ended with a short statement by the Israeli military absolving their soldiers of criminal wrongdoing.
The Polish government also expressed disappointment and called for Israeli authorities to cooperate with Polish investigations into the incident, which claimed the life of a Polish volunteer, Damian Soból.
In London, the Foreign Office stated that the UK was ‘appalled and angry’ for the families of the three British citizens who were killed in the attack. The WCK organisation, which distributed food in Gaza throughout the war, said that it had coordinated with the military over the movement of its cars, which had the group’s logo on their roofs visible from the air.
The Israeli military claimed that it had mistaken individuals in the vehicles for armed Hamas military operatives and that the WCK convoy had deviated from the previously coordinated route. However, the IDF concluded that ‘the decisions of the commanders did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.’
Two officers were removed from their positions at the time, and three others were reprimanded. One of the dismissed officers had reportedly signed an open letter earlier that year calling for Gaza to be deprived of aid. Israel imposed strict restrictions on the entry of humanitarian assistance during the conflict in Gaza, where experts declared a famine in August 2025.
The Israeli military admitted to opening fire on a car carrying a five-year-old girl and six family members in Gaza in 2024, saying it had ordered a criminal investigation into the killing, as well as into the fatal shooting of 15 paramedics in 2025. The IDF repeatedly denied its troops had been in the area near the incident, but investigations found evidence that strongly suggested nearby Israeli tanks were responsible.
Experts said that criminal misconduct investigations into Israeli troops over the killing of Palestinians very rarely lead to convictions.
