Canberra: Dozens of activists gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Canberra on Tuesday, demanding the ambassador's expulsion after Israel declined to pursue criminal charges against officers involved in strikes that killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in Gaza.

According to Anadolu Agency, the protesters displayed photographs of Palestinians killed in Gaza and chanted slogans such as "Kick out the Israeli ambassador" and "Free Palestine." The protesters blocked the embassy entrance before police intervened to move them from the driveway.

Frankcom, 43, and six other World Central Kitchen workers were killed on April 1, 2024, when Israeli drones struck three clearly marked vehicles in their humanitarian convoy in central Gaza. The protest followed comments by Col. Nochi Mendel, the Israeli commander who authorized the strikes, who defended his decision in an interview published last week, stating, "I'm not sorry for what I did."

Frankcom's friend, Karuna Bajracharya, who participated in the protest, described Mendel's remarks as "disgusting." Meanwhile, Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi accused the Australian government of failing to hold Israel accountable and called for sanctions, telling protesters, "They should have sanctioned Israel a long time ago."

Foreign Minister Penny Wong had expressed her outrage last month over Israel's decision not to pursue criminal charges, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remarked that Israel had fallen short of the accountability that Australia expected.