{"id":576600,"date":"2026-03-31T16:15:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/576600\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T16:15:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:15:18","slug":"family-of-zomi-frankcom-still-waiting-for-answers-two-years-after-death-at-hands-of-idf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/576600\/","title":{"rendered":"Family of Zomi Frankcom still waiting for answers two years after death at hands of IDF"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Zomi Frankcom’s brother Mal, the second anniversary of her death will be particularly painful.<\/p>\n

“Even though she was overseas a lot, we were still very close,” he said.<\/p>\n

It will be two years ago on Wednesday that Australian aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom was killed, alongside six of her colleagues, by an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) strike in Gaza.<\/p>\n

“There hasn’t been any kind of justice served or any movement with the case,” Mr Frankcom told Radio National Breakfast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“It’s going to be painful every year, but having that would provide some kind of comfort.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mal Frankcom said he was very close with his sister, Zomi.\u00a0 (ABC News: Callum Flinn)<\/p>\n

For two years the Frankcom family has been waiting for answers from an investigation conducted by Israel’s Military Advocate General.<\/p>\n

“But the updates are that there are no updates,” Mr Frankcom said.<\/p>\n

The Military Advocate General is responsible for implementing the rule of law within the IDF.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

“It’s been two years and still nothing’s happened and I’ve also heard that other high profile cases there [in Israel] have since been closed, but this one remains open,” Mr Frankcom said.<\/p>\n

Faced with uncertainty, he and his family have tried to maintain faith in the system and “hope that justice finds its course”.<\/p>\n

But that hope is fading.<\/p>\n

“Reading the news over the last two years since it’s happened, that faith \u2026 it gets diminished month on month,” Mr Frankcom said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Hillel Newman spoke at the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)<\/p>\n

Ambassador says he will ‘check’ status of probe<\/p>\n

In an address to the National Press Club<\/a> on Tuesday, Israel’s ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman denied that the investigation into Ms Frankcom’s death had been abandoned.<\/p>\n

“I’m the ambassador of Israel \u2014 I’ve never heard that it’s been shelved, OK?” he said.<\/p>\n

“As far as I know, it has not come to a conclusion. But I will check again.<\/p>\n

“The issue of penalising the soldiers who were involved \u2026 is a long judicial process.”<\/p>\n

After Dr Newman’s address a spokesperson for the IDF confirmed the investigation was ongoing.<\/p>\n

The IDF dismissed two officers over the strike, which it acknowledged violated the the organisation’s rules of engagement.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The IDF strike laid waste to this vehicle in the convoy. (Supplied:\u00a0Abdelhakim Abu Riash)<\/p>\n

An Australian review of the strike<\/a> found there was a “significant breakdown in situational awareness” and that the deaths were a result of serious failures to follow IDF procedures.<\/p>\n

“All requests for access to information from the IDF were supported, except for the audio of the 90-minute unedited footage of the World Central Kitchen convoy and subsequent strikes,” said Mark Binskin, who conducted the review.<\/p>\n

The Israeli ambassador emphasised the level of access that Mr Binskin had to IDF intelligence.<\/p>\n

“The access that was given to Australia was unprecedented. [Mr Binskin] was given full access to the occurrence itself and to the military interrogation of what happened,” he said.<\/p>\n

“He drew up a conclusion that was categoric. He wrote his name onto the conclusion that the attack was not intentional.”<\/p>\n

\"Gloved<\/p>\n

Workers from Britain, Poland and Australia were among those killed in the strike. (AP Photo: Abdel Kareem Hana)<\/p>\n

When asked why Mr Binskin did not have access to audio of the drone strike, the ambassador said granting access was up to the IDF, not him.<\/p>\n

“I can check why \u2026 if they are not releasing it, what is their reason. It could have intelligence aspects. I don’t want to guess why,” Dr Newman said.<\/p>\n

Mr Binskin’s report<\/a> recommended that Israel change the way it deals with groups delivering aid to Palestinian civilians and that the Israeli government apologise to Ms Frankcom’s family and provide compensation.<\/p>\n

“That still remains outstanding,” Mr Frankcom said.<\/p>\n

When directly asked if he would apologise to the Frankcom family, the Israeli ambassador to Australia was firm: “Sympathy [has] been expressed.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Independent MP Zali Steggall has written to the Israeli ambassador to request an update on the case. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)<\/p>\n

Calls for Australian government, ambassador to do more<\/p>\n

Independent MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall, has written to the Israeli ambassador to Australia calling for answers.<\/p>\n

“I urge ambassador Hillel Newman to provide clear answers, including an update on Israel’s military investigation, and to offer a formal apology and compensation to Zomi’s family,” she said.<\/p>\n

“And I call on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take a far tougher stance against Israel and use every diplomatic lever to secure justice over the unlawful killing of an Australian citizen.<\/p>\n

“The war in Gaza has been one of the deadliest ever for journalists and aid workers, and those responsible must be held to account.”<\/p>\n

Mr Albanesemet with Mr Frankcom this afternoon.<\/p>\n

The prime minister said he raised the issue directly with Israeli President Isaac Herzogwhen he visited Australia in February.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Zomi Frankcom was working for the World Central Kitchen aid group when she was killed. (LinkedIn)<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Penny Wong told parliament today she expected transparency in the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n

“We continue to press for full accountability, including any appropriate criminal charges,” she said.<\/p>\n

In relation to access to the audio recording, Senator Wong said: “We have made representations \u2014 during and since the Binskin report \u2014 to Israel on this matter, on behalf of the family. We will continue to engage and consult Ms Frankcom’s family on their request.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mal Frankcom says the family is considering establishing an humanitarian award in his sister’s name. (ABC News: Katie McAllister)<\/p>\n

Mr Frankcom said he and his sister had a “very tight relationship”.<\/p>\n

“We had two and a half years in between us. We grew up in a very tight-knit family. Our mother passed away in 2001 and that kind of bought us closer,” he said.<\/p>\n

“She was a very happy, positive person.”<\/p>\n

To commemorate the two-year anniversary of her death, Mr Frankcom will attend a vigil in Sydney.<\/p>\n

“I’ll say a few words, we’ll remember her and tell stories and remember her for the lovely person she was,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Hands<\/p>\n

Mal Frankcom said he and his sister became closer after their mother died. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)<\/p>\n

The family is considering partnering with an organisation to start a humanitarian award in Ms Frankcom’s name and would put any future compensation towards it.<\/p>\n

Bankstown-Canterbury Council has already unveiled a plaque and planted a tree in her honour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Zomi Frankcom’s brother Mal, the second anniversary of her death will be particularly painful. “Even though she…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,282850,6898,257703,13045,282852,282851,282853,282854,282849,282855,44,49399,241838,241839],"class_list":{"0":"post-576600","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-australian-aid-worker","11":"tag-gaza","12":"tag-hillel-newman","13":"tag-idf","14":"tag-idf-strike-on-aid-workers","15":"tag-israel-aid-worker-strike","16":"tag-israel-ambassador-to-australia","17":"tag-israeli-defense-forces","18":"tag-mal-frankcom","19":"tag-most-moral-military-in-the-world","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-penny-wong","22":"tag-world-central-kitchen","23":"tag-zomi-frankcom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}