Canada, UK and Australia condemn Israel over World Central Kitchen investigation

Jerusalem, Israel. Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia issued a joint statement on Friday condemning Israel’s decision to close its investigation into the killing of seven aid workers delivering humanitarian goods sent from Cyprus to Gaza in 2024.

The three countries said the decision not to pursue criminal investigations into the strike fell short of the accountability owed to the victims and their families.

Joint statement

On April 1, 2024, the Israel Defence Forces fired on a World Central Kitchen convoy delivering food to civilians in Gaza, killing seven humanitarian workers in drone strikes, including citizens of the United Kingdom and Australia and a dual Canada-United States national.

The countries said the IDF had described the incident at the time as “a serious mistake and a failure” and that they had pressed Israel for more than two years to consider the case thoroughly and hold those responsible to account.

They described the IDF’s August 19 announcement that it would not pursue criminal investigations into the strike, without further explanation, as “shameful”.

The statement said the timing of the announcement, on World Humanitarian Day, was “particularly egregious”, adding that the decision was “too little and too late”.

Calls for accountability

The three countries said the World Central Kitchen attack was one of countless incidents in Gaza where there had been no accountability.

They said humanitarian workers continued to support civilians in desperate need under perilous conditions, despite a fragile ceasefire.

According to the statement, 186 humanitarian workers were killed in Gaza in 2025, making it the deadliest place to deliver aid.

The countries said Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law and do more to ensure humanitarian staff could work safely.

Australia’s response

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said earlier that Australia was “outraged” by the decision and that the lack of criminal proceedings fell far short of the accountability her government expected.

Wong said she would summon Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, and had directed Australia’s ambassador to Israel to convey the government’s views directly to Israeli authorities as Australia considered its next steps.