The Greens have criticised inflammatory statements from the former Israel Defense Forces officer who ordered the attack which killed Zomi Frankcom, accusing the Albanese government of weakness over its failure to halt military exports and impose new sanctions.
Australian aid worker Frankcom and six of her colleagues were killed in ۲۰۲۴ while bringing food to the people of Gaza. Former IDF reserve colonel Nochi Mendel has said he would do “exactly the same thing” again and that those killed in the World Central Kitchen (WCK) humanitarian convoy in Gaza were “not innocent”.
The statements have been condemned as “utterly disgraceful” by Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, and as an “outrageous smear” by WCK’s humanitarian chief.
But the Greens’ defence spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said the government’s response was insufficient in the face of Mendel’s “reprehensible” statements. He said the comments “reflect the rhetoric and policy of the Israeli government, where collective punishment of aid workers, doctors and innocent civilians is occurring daily”.
“I do not care what minister Wong’s personal feelings are, I don’t care about her outrage, I care about the actions taken as foreign minister,” Shoebridge told Guardian Australia.
“Anyone can condemn the actions of the Israeli military, but only the government can impose the sanctions and material responses needed. Until they do their words are distractions.”
He called for material reprimand for members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and for the sale of parts for the F-۳۵ fighter jet to be immediately halted.
José Andrés, the WCK founder, said Mendel had smeared Frankcom and her colleagues.
“Now, one of the officers involved says he isn’t sorry for what happened. He said we are not a neutral organisation,” he said in a statement published online this week.
“Really? Let me be very clear, to him and to the whole world. We are humanitarians. We are friends of humanity. We believe that food is a universal human right.”
Mendel, then the chief of staff of the Nahal brigade, said he gave the order to attack a humanitarian convoy delivering hundreds of tonnes of food to Gaza on the night of ۱ April ۲۰۲۴.
Three vehicles in the convoy were attacked along Gaza’s coast road, in successive drone strikes, each about two minutes apart.
One after another, the three vehicles were bombed, as survivors from the initial strikes ran to the untouched cars, seeking sanctuary.
An IDF investigation found the attack was a grave mistake, identifying specific errors made by a handful of officers, in particular Mendel, who was removed from his position. The victims of the strike were also blamed for hiring armed guards to protect the food aid convoy and for allegedly “deviating” from their agreed route.
Last month, Israel’s advocate general declined to press charges against anyone for the deaths, saying there was “no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct”.
Mendel has given interviews to the ABC and the Guardian saying he did not regret the attacks. He told the Guardian he was following IDF protocol, and the humanitarians were marked as targets under an Israeli military practice of establishing guilt by association.
Mendel was referring to a general policy of haflala, “incrimination”, which gives commanders in the field wide discretion in designating a person a “terrorist”, including those “incriminated” by association.
Mendel told the Guardian while he didn’t plan to kill aid workers, those killed “were not innocent because they were connected to Hamas”.
He did not support this assertion with any evidence. Investigations by the IDF itself and the former head of the Australian military have found no suggestion of any connection between Hamas and World Central Kitchen.
after newsletter promotion
Mendel said he fought in the war in Gaza “to defeat Hamas”, and dismissed the seriousness of the killing of seven humanitarians.
“If such an event came before me again, I would do exactly the same thing,” he told the Guardian.
“I think it’s an idiotic side event. It really isn’t a serious event.”
Wong, asked about earlier comments from Mendel that he was unapologetic over the strikes, said his statements were extremely distressing for Frankcom’s family.
“I thought those comments were disgraceful, utterly disgraceful,” she told the ABC. “I don’t even want to go into some of the detail of them because I don’t want to give them any credence.”
Wong said the Australian government was dissatisfied with Israel’s decision not to lay criminal charges against those responsible, and would continue to “press for justice”.
“We do want to see full accountability for the deaths of Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues. They were humanitarian workers working to deliver aid and they are protected under the Geneva conventions.”
Restaurateur Andrés, whose charity has provided more than ۶۰۰m meals to people affected by natural disasters, climate emergencies and conflict around the world, said the deaths of humanitarian workers who were just trying to feed hungry people was inexcusable.
“Enough with the outrageous smears. Enough with excuses. Enough with the shifting of blame.
“From the start, we have demanded truth, truth and justice for our friends and their families. We want an independent investigation with all the video and audio released in public so the world can know the truth, because we continue to grieve for our friends. We will never forget them or stop fighting for them.”
Frankcom’s family issued a statement following Israel’s decision not to lay criminal charges, saying they were “deeply disappointed” by the decision.
“The families of the victims deserve transparency and an independent judicial assessment of the criminal responsibility for the international humanitarian law violations that took place on that day,” the said.
Shoebridge said on Sunday he could not fathom the pain and distress facing the Frankcom family.
“I think most people are in shock at the inaction of the Labor government when an Australian has been murdered and the killers walk free. At some point the Albanese government is going to have to get their head out of sand and start taking action.”
