Australia's response to Zomi Frankcom report 'omitted crucial details', Israel says

Israel has taken issue with Australia's response to a report the latter commissioned into the Israeli airstrike that killed aid worker Zomi Frankcom.

Aid worker Zomi Frankcom's killing in April led to protest marches in Australia. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts

The Israeli embassy has accused Australia of making misrepresentations and crucial omissions in its response to a report on aid worker Zomi Frankcom's death.

A federal government adviser released a report on Friday into the Israel Defence Forces airstrike on a humanitarian convoy that killed Frankcom and six other World Central Kitchen workers as they delivered food in Gaza in April.

Former Australian Defence Force chief Mark Binskin found the incident was caused by failures to follow IDF procedures, mistaken identification and decision-making errors exacerbated by confirmation bias.

Israel's embassy in Canberra has taken issue with aspects of Australia's response.

"The Australian government's statement about the report regrettably included some misrepresentations and omitted crucial details," the embassy said in a statement on Monday.

It claimed the federal government had misrepresented the way the report was conducted, the degree of cooperation and openness exhibited by the Israeli Defence Forces and "certain aspects of the tragic incident".

Zomi Frankcom was one of seven World Central Kitchen workers killed in April by an Israeli airstrike. Source: AFP / AFP

During a press conference on Friday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Frankcom was killed "in an intentional strike by the IDF" and urged Israel to apologise to her family.

The Israeli embassy pointed out that Binskin's report found the IDF strike was "not knowingly or deliberately directed" against World Central Kitchen.

The diplomatic statement extended "deepest condolences" to Frankcom's family but did not include an apology.

Israel's defence force had dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others while improving coordination between the IDF and aid organisations, the embassy said.

"We hold the critical humanitarian activity undertaken by international aid organisations in the highest regard," it said.

"We will continue to coordinate and assist in their operations."

On 7 October, Hamas — designated a terrorist group by the Australian government — attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

In the months since, Israel has unleashed a bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza that has killed almost 40,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry.

Almost 90 per cent of Gazans, about 1.9 million people, have been displaced while 495,000 are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.