In brief
A joint statement from the foreign ministries of the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia condemns Israel’s decision not to launch a criminal inquiry into the April 2024 strikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen volunteers in Gaza. The victims were of diverse nationalities, including Britain, Poland, Australia, Canada and a dual US‑Canadian citizen. Israel’s ambassador to Australia explains the strikes were accidental, but the three governments demand justice and highlight a larger pattern of lack of accountability in Gaza. The IDF has since announced investigations into other alleged war crimes, amidst growing diplomatic tensions over settlement expansion in the West Bank.
UK, Canada and Australia call on Israel to open a criminal probe after a convoy of World Central Kitchen volunteers was struck in Gaza in April 2024, killing seven people.
The joint statement released by the three foreign ministries described Israel’s refusal to look into the strikes as “shameful” and demanded that the victims’ families receive justice. The seven volunteers – three British nationals, a Polish citizen, an Australian, a Canadian and a dual US‑Canadian resident – were on a delivery mission for the humanitarian organisation when the convoy was hit.
Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, responded by insisting the attacks were not intentional and therefore carried no criminal liability. The Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, however, summoned the ambassador and expressed outrage, quoting the “unanswered questions” about why the first strike was a catastrophic error and why two more strikes followed minutes later.
The Israeli Defence Forces stated that the convoy had deviated from an agreed route and that an armed guard was mistakenly identified as a Hamas fighter, but that no “reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct” had arisen. They also announced criminal investigations into other alleged incidents involving civilian casualties in Gaza.
Poland’s foreign ministry, and representatives of the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, reiterate that the WCK attack is part of a broader pattern of retaliation in Gaza where accountability has been lacking. The Israeli Prime Minister has yet to comment on the latest statement, though he previously acknowledged that the volunteers were “unintentionally” killed.
Amid these developments, the United Kingdom’s foreign secretary Ed Miliband and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar engaged in a heated exchange over settlement expansion plans in the occupied West Bank. While Miliband condemned the issuance of tenders for the E1 area as “unacceptable and destructive,” Saar rejected the criticism and defended Israel’s right to settle the region.
Demonstrating the escalating crisis, UN reports indicate that 186 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since 2025, underscoring the urgency of a thorough investigation and adherence to international humanitarian law to protect aid workers.
Further context: The Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim lies adjacent to the so-called E1 project, a move widely considered illegal under international law.
For more information on the identities and backgrounds of the seven World Central Kitchen volunteers, see “Who were the World Central Kitchen workers killed in Gaza?”.
