Gaza – Israel’s shocking decision to clear soldiers who killed seven aid workers

Press Release – 20 August 2026 

Geneva (LAW) — On 19 August, as the world paid tribute to humanitarians who take enormous risks to provide life-saving assistance to communities affected by conflict and violence, Israel’s Military Advocate General cleared its soldiers of criminal wrongdoing in the Gaza strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers, including Australian national Zomi Frankcom, on 1 April 2024. 

Beyond the outrageous symbolic aspect of this announcement, which has been described by victims’ families as an “insult”, the decision is an attempt to sweep the truth under the carpet. Even Israel’s own internal investigation, completed within 72 hours of the strikes, showed serious failings of conduct and failure to follow orders by the commanders. This alone should have merited an independent civilian investigation. 

“Australia is outraged by the Israeli Government’s decision to not pursue any criminal proceedings against those responsible. Even if the first strike was a catastrophic error, two further strikes followed, each two minutes apart…”, said Penny Wong, Australian Foreign Minister. Based on the available information, including the IDF’s own admissions, LAW believes that these attacks could constitute war crimes, namely; intentionally directing an attack against humanitarian personnel, and intentionally directing an attack against civilians and/or civilian objects. 

“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”, said the Frankcom’s family in a statement.  

“Israeli soldiers have yet to face any real form of accountability for continuous and well-documented violations of international law committed in Gaza”, said Antonia Mulvey, LAW’s Executive Director. “Given Israel’s refusal to do so, we call on States to investigate and prosecute these grave international crimes, including using the principle of universal jurisdiction. The families have a right to the truth, justice, and reparation.”  

Under Australia’s leadership, 122 countries have ratified the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel. Israel is not one of them. States must urgently translate commitments into action, to ensure aid workers can safely carry out their life-saving mission and prevent dire humanitarian situations from worsening further.  

As an implementing partner of the Declaration, LAW provides free legal services to aid workers victims of violence and their families. 

For more information, please contact: 

Lucien Christen, Global Communications Manager, [email protected], +41765343816