Melbourne: Zomi Frankcom, one of the six international aid workers with the World Central Kitchen, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the war-torn Gaza along with the Palestinian driver, was of Indian descent, according to reports. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that 43-year-old Frankcom was among those killed and demanded full accountability from the Israeli Government.
"This is someone who was volunteering overseas to provide aid through this charity for people who are suffering tremendous deprivation in Gaza. And this is just completely unacceptable,” he said.
“We want full accountability for this because this is a tragedy that should never have occurred."
Who was Zomi Frankcom?
The woman, born to an Australian father and a Mizo mother, was on a mission to provide relief to the people of war-torn northern Gaza when the convoy she was travelling in came under fire late Monday, media reports said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that Israeli forces carried out the strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza. “Unfortunately over the last day there was a tragic incident of an unintended strike of our forces on innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said that officials "will do everything for this not to happen again”. The food charity, founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said it was immediately suspending operations in the region.
"Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route," it said.
"This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said WCK CEO Erin Gore. The seven killed are from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the US and Canada, and Palestine.
(With inputs from agency)
