Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Lao, Sonexay Siphandone (not in the photograph), at the conclusion of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, Australia, March 6, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

CANBERRA — Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spoken to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to express the nation's anger over the death of a citizen in Gaza.

Albanese on Wednesday confirmed he has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and conveyed to him in clear terms that Australians are outraged by the death of Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom in the Gaza Strip.

"I expressed Australia's anger and concern at the death of Zomi Frankcom," Albanese said at a press conference in Canberra.

Frankcom was one of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers who were killed when the three-car convoy they were traveling in was hit by an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza Strip on Monday local time.

Albanese said that during their phone call Netanyahu was committed to conducting a thorough investigation into the strike with full transparency.

"The Israeli government has accepted responsibility for this and Prime Minister Netanyahu conveyed his condolences to the family of Zomi Frankcom and to Australia as a result of this tragedy," he said.

He praised the aid workers who were killed as heroes and said he had given Frankcom's family his personal phone number to provide whatever assistance the government can.

Albanese said he reiterated Australia's view to Israel that humanitarian assistance must reach Gaza unimpeded and in large quantities.

Frankcom's family said they were still reeling from the shock and requested privacy.

"We are deeply mourning the news that our brave and beloved Zomi has been killed doing the work she loves delivering food to the people of Gaza," the family said in a statement.

"She will leave behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love for all those in her orbit."

With Reuters inputs