The brother of an Australian aid worker who was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Gaza is urging the prime minister to press for more action on her case during the Israeli President Isaac Herzog's state visit.
Mal Frankcom says his grieving family is disappointed by the government's invitation to the Israeli president, but given the visit is now underway, he is hoping it will lead to progress on his sister's stalled case.
His family is still searching for answers almost two years after Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom was killed in an Israeli drone strike while working for the World Central Kitchen aid organisation in April 2024.
Seven aid workers, including Frankcom, were killed in Gaza when their three-car convoy was targeted by Israeli drones.
The group had been helping feed hungry Palestinians in central Gaza. Israel at the time said it was a "tragic incident" before apologising and blaming "misidentification".
"It's still very frustrating, but ... we still hold faith. We will be determined to pursue justice and accountability," Frankcom told SBS News.
"Not only for Zomi, but for the seven victims of the April 1 strike. I've spoken to a few of their families as well, and they're in a similar position, with kind of being in the dark and not having any updates."
Herzog is on day three of a four-day visit to Australia in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, with the government saying his visit is intended to offer comfort to the Jewish community grieving the 14 December massacre.
Frankcom said he understood why the decision was made, but he personally didn't agree with the invitation.
"I understand why the invitation was extended, my family and I all grieved and all that, it was a horrific antisemitic atrocity," he said.
"I just find it hard to reconcile inviting the head of state when their government and their military is accused of war crimes and the atrocities that we see on the news every night ... it's a tricky one but I find it hard to reconcile," he told SBS News.
He said he has written personally to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to voice his opposition to the invitation.
"I didn't directly request anything from him but I did send him a message and to Foreign Minister [Penny] Wong's office, just letting them know that my family were quite disappointed in the decision to invite him given the case remains ongoing."
An Australian government-commissioned report in August 2024 backed the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) assessment of the incident as a "grave mistake" that "should not have occurred".
The report detailed the drone footage showed the operator tracking the convoy before the strike, and during the transit period, when the strike took place and afterwards.
The incident was taken up for investigation by Israel's Military Advocate General office, which implements military law. But delays have been exacerbated by the arrest of the office's top lawyer last year.
Mal Frankcom said he hoped the Australian government raised the case with Herzog while he's in the country.
"There's a few missing pieces of the puzzle," he said.
"It's been ... nearly two years now, and after the initial fact-finding report was made, it was referred to the Military Advocate General to decide whether further investigation was required, but since then, there's been no progress on that front."
Questions also remain about the audio of the drone strike which was not provided to Australian investigator Mark Binskin.
Mal Frankcom has previously said he was told the audio was in Hebrew and would not be understood, but has been pushing for a translation or transcript.
"It's not that I want it personally, but I just want to be reassured that it's included in the military advocate general’s investigation, and that it's done in a thorough and independent manner," he said.
More broadly, Frankcom said the Israeli authorities made commitments for the safety of people who went in to conduct humanitarian work in Gaza.
"I was told that they would change, you know, their protocols and procedures in the wake of that strike," he said.
"But … I still see on the news that, you know, there's still aid workers being killed, there's still medics being killed, there's still women and children being killed. So, you know, that still begs the question of whether that was actually done or not."
The global aid worker security database said 215 aid workers were killed in the occupied Palestinian territories last year, 185 killed in 2024 and 176 in 2023.
Frankcom said the Australian investigative process, as well as inquiries by Polish and UK authorities, had not yielded full answers.
"None of those things have ended in justice and accountability for Zomi's death and seeing the people responsible for Zomi's death held accountable," he said.
"All the Military Advocate General needs to do is review the evidence and decide whether it gets referred for further criminal prosecution."
The prime minister's office has been contacted for comment.
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