WARSAW: Britain, Canada, and Australia on Friday condemned as “shameful” Israel’s decision to close an investigation into the death of seven aid workers killed in Gaza in 2024.
The World Central Kitchen employees — three Britons, a dual US-Canadian national, a Pole, an Australian, and a Palestinian — died in a drone strike on their vehicle convoy after overseeing the unloading of a food aid shipment.
“In the more than two years since, we have been pressing for Israel to swiftly and thoroughly consider the case and hold those responsible to account,” the three nations said in a joint statement.
“The announcement by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) on 19 August 2026 that it would not pursue criminal investigations into this strike, without further explanation, is shameful,” it said.
Poland’s foreign ministry said it was “very disappointed” and had summoned Israel’s ambassador in Warsaw after Israel decided not to pursue the criminal proceedings.
Damian Sobol, a volunteer from Przemysl in southeastern Poland, was among seven people working for celebrity chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen who were killed in the airstrike in central Gaza, which caused an international outcry.
Israel’s military called the incident a “tragic mistake.”
“The Polish side provided a critical assessment of the actions taken to date to clarify the causes and course of the tragedy, informed that a parallel investigation is being conducted by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Przemysl,” Poland's foreign ministry said.
It also “expressed its expectation that the Israeli side will provide the relevant Polish authorities with all necessary explanations and materials requested by Polish investigators.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Ignacy Niemczycki told public radio PR1 on Friday that “we consider this a surprising decision.”
“We believe that the use of force must be proportionate, and that inappropriate use of force should have consequences, so we expect clarification on this matter,” he said.
The Israeli military acknowledged a series of errors at various levels of command, but a preliminary investigation concluded on Wednesday that there was no “reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.”
“Announcing this decision on World Humanitarian Day, while the world honored the courage and sacrifice of humanitarians, was particularly egregious,” the joint statement of Britain, Canada and Australia said.
Australia also summoned Israel’s ambassador in Canberra on Thursday after an Australian citizen was killed in the airstrike.
The US-based World Central Kitchen condemned the decision calling it “inconsistent with the full truth and deeply offensive.”
It demanded an independent commission to investigate the airstrikes “because the IDF cannot credibly investigate its own conduct.”
More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.
Israel’s military says its attacks target Hamas militants. It has said it opens investigations into some attacks involving civilian deaths.
