Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was angered by the Israeli military’s conclusion after its review of the April 2024 strikes that killed Frankcom and six other World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza.

"This decision falls short of the accountability we expect,” Wong said in a statement, adding that Australia was "outraged” by the outcome and would continue pressing Israeli authorities for justice for Frankcom and her colleagues.

Wong said she had instructed Australia’s ambassador to Israel to convey Canberra’s position directly to the Israeli government as officials considered possible next steps. She acknowledged that relations between Australia and Israel were going through a difficult period amid continuing disagreements over the case and the Gaza conflict.

"We have an Australian humanitarian worker who was killed not in the first strike, but in the course of three separate strikes on a humanitarian convoy,” Wong said.

The Israeli military said Wednesday that a fact-finding process and subsequent assessment found insufficient grounds to open a criminal investigation into the deaths of the seven World Central Kitchen workers.

Newman, speaking to reporters in Canberra after meeting Wong, said the Israeli investigation had identified military failures but determined that the soldiers involved bore no criminal responsibility.

"It was a mistake in retrospect, but the findings of the court indicate there was no criminal intent and no intention to target aid workers, and therefore no criminal responsibility,” Newman said.

He said the humanitarian convoy had deviated from a previously approved route and may have appeared to be carrying armed individuals, leading Israeli forces to believe that Hamas had taken control of it.

The World Central Kitchen workers were traveling in a convoy in Gaza when Israeli forces carried out three strikes on their vehicles in April 2024. The victims included citizens of Australia, Britain and Poland, as well as a Palestinian and a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen.

Their deaths prompted condemnation from the United States and several Israeli allies and intensified international scrutiny of military procedures intended to protect humanitarian personnel operating in Gaza.

Diplomat News Network reviewed the publicly stated positions of Australian and Israeli officials concerning the case. Canberra’s latest diplomatic action underscores the continuing disagreement between the two governments over whether Israel’s internal military process has provided sufficient accountability for Frankcom’s death.

The dispute also carries broader implications for humanitarian operations in Gaza, where aid organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of personnel working in conflict zones and the effectiveness of military coordination mechanisms designed to protect them.

Australia has maintained diplomatic engagement with Israel despite the growing dispute. Wong said her government would not abandon its demand for accountability, leaving further Australian measures under consideration as Canberra continues to press Israeli authorities over the deaths of Frankcom and her colleagues.