BRISBANE: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has demanded complete accountability over the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in the Gaza Strip.
Zomi Frankcom was one of four international aid workers that Palestinian authorities say were killed along with their Palestinian driver on Monday in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah.
Speaking at a press conference in Brisbane, Albanese said that Frankcom’s death was “completely unacceptable” and beyond any reasonable situations. The Prime Minister said that the news story is sad and they wanted full accountability for this killing. He added that this tragedy should never have happened.
Albanese maintained that the truth is that this is beyond any sensible conditions that someone going about providing help and humanitarian assistance should lose their life and there were 4 aid workers as well as a Palestinian driver in the vehicle. He also reiterated calls for a “sustainable truce”. He added that his country wants to see an end to this war.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said earlier in a statement that Australia has been “very clear that they expected humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip to have safe and unimpeded access to do their work.
Australian citizen Frankcom had worked at the US-based aid organization World Central Kitchen since 2019, most recently serving as top manager for Asia operations in Bangkok. Those killed in Monday’s airstrike also include a UK and Polish national, Gaza officials said.
WCK founder Jose Andres also confirmed that several of the organization’s staff had been killed in an Israel airstrike, adding he was “heartbroken and grieving for their families and our whole WCK family”.
