The UK, Australia and Canada have called Israel’s decision not to pursue a criminal investigation into the deadly 2024 strike on a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy in Gaza “shameful.”
In a joint statement on Friday, the foreign ministries of the three countries said they had spent more than two years pressing Israel to swiftly and thoroughly examine the case and hold those responsible to account.
“The announcement by the Israeli Forces on 19 August 2026 that it would not pursue criminal investigations into this strike, without further explanation, is shameful,” the statement said.
The three countries called on Israel to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law and said it must do more to ensure that humanitarian workers can carry out their duties safely.
The statement came after the Israeli military said on Wednesday that it would investigate two suspected war crimes cases in Gaza while closing three other high-profile investigations, including the WCK strike that killed seven aid workers.
Israeli ambassador summoned
Poland has also summoned the Israeli ambassador in Warsaw on Thursday over the closure of the investigation into the deaths of Polish aid worker Damian Sobol and his WCK colleagues.
The Polish foreign ministry described Israel’s decision not to pursue criminal proceedings against those responsible as a “great disappointment.”
“In connection with this decision, the Ambassador of Israel in Warsaw was summoned to the Ministry,” the ministry wrote on X.
It said Warsaw had conveyed its critical assessment of Israel’s efforts to establish the circumstances surrounding the attack and noted that a parallel investigation was being conducted by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Przemysl.
The ministry reiterated that the circumstances surrounding the killing of the WCK workers in April 2024 must be fully clarified, adding that Poland would not accept those responsible evading legal and moral accountability.
Attack on WCK aid workers
Seven WCK aid workers died in April 2024 when Israeli military struck their convoy after it unloaded 100 tonnes of food in besieged Gaza brought by sea.
Israeli military tracked the convoy for almost two kilometres, striking each car in succession, according to WCK, adding that the vehicles were marked with WCK’s brightly coloured logos, and the army knew their exact movements.
Those seven workers – Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish, and dual US-Canadian nationals – were killed despite what WCK said was a “clear communication” with the Israeli military.
