Israeli officer defends drone strike that killed aid worker Zomi Frankcom

Colonel Nochi Mendel, the former chief of staff for the Nahal infantry brigade, explained in an October 2025 interview why he ordered a drone strike that killed Australian humanitarian Zomi Frankcom and six other World Central Kitchen staff in April 2024. He said the convoy appeared to contain armed Hamas operatives alongside aid workers, leading him to authorize the attack despite later instructions to avoid striking humanitarian vehicles.

Although the IDF described the incident as a grave misidentification and removed Mendel from his post, it decided not to open a criminal investigation, prompting condemnation from Frankcom's family, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and WCK. Mendel asserted that World Central Kitchen was not a neutral entity and suggested it had ties to Hamas, claims the organization called "false and outrageous." He expressed no remorse for the decision, noting the complex operational environment in Gaza, and lamented his dismissal as a personal cost of the conflict. The case remains under scrutiny, with calls for an independent inquiry and ongoing investigative reporting.