Canada and the United Kingdom on Friday joined Australia in condemning Israel for closing its investigation into the killing of seven aid workers who were transporting humanitarian goods sent from Cyprus to Gaza in 2024, with all three countries issuing a joint statement expressing their distaste at the decision.

“On April 1, 2024, the Israel Defence Forces fired on a World Central Kitchen convoy as it was delivering food to civilians in Gaza. Drone strikes killed seven humanitarian workers, including from the United Kingdom, Australia, and a dual Canada-United States national,” they said.

They added that at the time, the IDF had “described this incident as a serious mistake and a failure”, and said that as such, “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 announcement by the IDF on August 19 … that it would not pursue criminal investigations into this strike, without further explanation, is shameful. Announcing this decision on World Humanitarian Day, while the world honoured the courage and sacrifice of humanitarians, was particularly egregious,” they said.

They then described the decision as “too little and too late”, before adding that “the victims of this incident and their families deserve justice and accountability”, and saying that “we will continue to seek answers on their behalf”.

“The World Central Kitchen attack is one of countless incidents in Gaza where there has been no accountability. In Gaza, humanitarian workers continue to work tirelessly to support civilians in desperate need, risking their lives whilst working in the most perilous conditions,” they said.

However, they said, “despite the fragile ceasefire, Gaza remains the deadliest place to deliver aid, with 186 humanitarian workers killed in 2025”.

“Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, and must do more to ensure that humanitarian staff can carry out their work safely. Lessons must be learnt from this tragedy,” they said.

Earlier, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong had said that her country was “outraged” by the decision, and added that the Israeli authorities’ decision not to pursue criminal proceedings “falls far short of the accountability we expect”.

She also said that she will “call in Israel’s ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman and have directed Australia’s ambassador to Israel to convey our views directly to Israel as the Australian government considers next steps”.

At the time of the attack, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides described the matter as a “sad day”, while European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who was visiting the island to inspect the Amalthea humanitarian aid corridor’s preparations, said that “humanitarian organisations must be protected.”

Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said on the same day that “questions will now need to be answered by the Israelis.”

In light of the attack, of the 330 tonnes of humanitarian aid which had been sent from the port of Larnaca to Israel, 240 tonnes returned to the island unloaded, while American charity World Central Kitchen, which had been distributing the aid, temporarily suspended its operations.

The charity’s founder, Michelin-starred chef Jose Andres, said at the time that the IDF had targeted his aid workers “systematically, car by car”.

“This was not just a bad luck situation where ‘oops’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,” he added.

Meanwhile, non-governmental organisation Open Arms, which supplied the eponymous ship which carried the humanitarian aid shipment to Israel, was also furious at the incident.

Organisation representative Oscar Camps described Gaza as a “dystopian laboratory where people’s blood flows while war technologies are tested and perfected, directed by increasingly automated algorithms that allow all human responsibility to be diluted, using technology and trivialising evil”.