Australia presses Israel’s Herzog for criminal charges over strike killing Zomi Frankcom

Australia is demanding criminal charges over a 2024 Israeli air strike on an aid convoy in Gaza that killed seven people, including an Australian aid worker, the country’s prime minister said on Wednesday in a case that has drawn sweeping condemnation and strained relations between the two countries.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he conveyed the request to visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a meeting earlier in the day.Australian Zomi Frankcom was one of four World Central Kitchen aid workers killed by an Israeli drone on April 1, 2024. The other aid workers were an American-Canadian dual citizen, a Palestinian and a Polish national. Three British security staff were also killed in the same air strike.There was no immediate response on Albanese’s request from Herzog, who visited the national capital, Canberra, on Wednesday after spending two days in Sydney, where he comforted Jews reeling from an antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach in December that left 15 dead.From top left to right: Lalzawmi Frankcom, Damian Sobol, James Kirby, and Saifeddin Abutaha. Bottom left to right: James Henderson, John Chapman, and Jacob Flickinger. All seven aid workers were killed by Israeli bombardment on April 1, 2024. Photo: World Central Kitchen/AFPHerzog’s visit triggers controversyThough Australia’s major political parties largely back Herzog’s visit, Albanese spoke in parliament on Wednesday to several lawmakers who opposed it, accusing the Israeli leader of inciting genocide in Gaza and inflaming community tensions within Australia.