Australia demands accountability from Israel after the death of aid workers in Gaza

There has been no contact yet between the two leaders.

The aid workers, from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Palestine, the US and Canada, were killed on Monday in an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. They worked to provide humanitarian food aid in the area torn by genocide.

Albanese called the death of Australian aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom a “loss to our nation” and extended his condolences to her family and friends. He said Australia stands for a political solution to the conflict, with an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

“Australia expects full accountability for the deaths of emergency workers, which is completely unacceptable,” he said. He added that Canberra had alerted the Israeli ambassador to Australia and that Foreign Minister Penny Wong had tried to contact her Israeli counterpart.

WCK founder Jose Andres said he was “heartbroken and grieving” for his “sisters and brothers” he had served in different countries. He called on the Israeli cabinet to stop the “indiscriminate killing” and limits on humanitarian aid. “Peace begins with our shared humanity. It must start now,” he said.

The Israeli military said it was conducting a “thorough investigation” into the “tragic” incident. Australian-backed Israel has been carrying out a deadly offensive on Gaza since October. Some 33,000 Palestinians have been killed and 76,000 others injured, mainly children and women. Nearly nine in ten residents are displaced and suffer from a lack of food, water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In a preliminary ruling in January, the World Court ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and to stop obstructing international humanitarian aid to suffering civilians in Gaza.

In a new ruling on Thursday, the ICJ again ordered Israel to allow emergency aid facilities to Gazans.