Aid workers killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza, Australia demands accountability

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Tuesday that an Australian aid worker had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza and said his government wanted “full responsibility”.

Australian Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom was among those killed, who included a British aid worker, an aid worker from Poland, and a Palestinian driver.

“This is a human tragedy that should never have happened and is completely unacceptable,” Albanese told reporters.

Albanese said humanitarian workers and all innocent civilians “need to be protected.”

Frankcom, who works with the charity World Central Kitchen, was killed hours after aid workers brought a new shipment of food to Gaza via a sea route set up to serve desperately needed food in northern Gaza.

World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres said on social media that he was “heartbroken and saddened” after “losing several of our brothers and sisters in the IDF attack on Gaza.”

“The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing,” Andres said. “It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives will be lost. Peace starts with our common humanity. It needs to start now.”

The Israeli military said in a statement that it was conducting a “thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.” It said it had been “working closely with WCK” to provide aid to the Palestinians.

White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the United States was “heartbroken and deeply disturbed” by the deadly attack.

“Humanitarian aid workers must be protected as they deliver much-needed aid, and we urge Israel to quickly investigate what happened,” Watson told the X program.

Earlier on Monday, U.S. and Israeli officials held virtual talks over Israel’s planned ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza to root out more Hamas fighters, with the United States opposing the potential attack over concerns it would jeopardize more than 100,000 people who have taken refuge there. 1.3 million Palestinians.

After the talks, the White House said Israel would “consider” U.S. concerns about the planned offensive.

The White House said in a statement that the two sides “engaged constructively on Rafah” during a two-hour video conference attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Israeli officials attending the meeting included National Security Adviser Chachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, according to the White House.

The statement said: “The United States has expressed concerns about Rafah’s various courses of action. Israel has agreed to consider these concerns and conduct follow-up discussions.”

“There is no victory without entering Rafah, there is no victory without destroying the Hamas camp there,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. Netanyahu has approved a military action plan in response to the attack.

Israel says it will protect Palestinians from a new war in Rafah, just north of the Gaza-Egypt border, but has not said publicly where it will move them.

In the early weeks of the six-month conflict, the Israeli military ordered most Palestinians seeking refuge in the area to move there to escape fighting in northern Gaza.

A week ago, Netanyahu canceled high-level U.S.-Israeli talks to protest the U.S. failure to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. The United States abstained from voting on the resolution a week ago, and the resolution was passed after previously vetoing other similar resolutions.

Following Monday’s secure video conference, the United States said it expected further talks by a “group of experts” to be held in person.

The United States has been Israel’s staunchest ally in the fight against Hamas, which launched a shocking attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of some 250 hostages, according to Israeli statistics. captured. Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 32,700 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli military said a third of those killed were militants.

Information for this report was provided in part by The Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.