Key Points
- The prime minister has demanded an investigation into the Israeli airstrike that killed an Australian aid worker.
- Israel's president has expressed "sincere apologies" for the strike, which killed at least seven Gaza aid workers.
- The workers killed included Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish and US-Canadian citizens.
Israel's army acknowledged on Wednesday it committed a "grave mistake" when it killed seven aid workers from a US charity in an airstrike in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed the "anger" of the nation after Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom was killed in the airstrike as he called for a "thorough investigation".
"This incident was a grave mistake," Israeli Defence Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said in a video message posted on social media platform X.
He blamed "a misidentification — at night during a war in very complex conditions".
"It shouldn't have happened," he added.
People inspect the site where World Central Kitchen workers were killed in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. World Central Kitchen, an aid group, says an Israeli strike that hit its workers in Gaza killed at least seven people, including several foreigners. Source: AAP / Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
"I expressed Australia's anger and concern at the death of Zomi Frankcom," Albanese told reporters on Wednesday.
"This is someone who was volunteering overseas to provide aid through this charity. This is completely unacceptable."
Albanese said the Israeli government had "accepted responsibility" but that a proper investigation into how the tragedy occurred needed to take place.
"The first step is the acceptance of responsibility and that has occurred. But we want a very fast, immediate, clear and transparent process to occur," he said.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, said that there was no evidence Israel deliberately targeted the aid workers but that it was outraged by their deaths and Israel had an obligation to ensure aid workers in Gaza were not harmed.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that the war with Hamas militants did not "obviate" Israel of its "responsibility for observing international humanitarian law, including the protection of aid workers".
Wong also warned Netanyahu to "change course".
"I say again to you, publicly ... that unless Israel, Mr Netanyahu, changes his course of action, Israel will continue to lose support," she told ABC radio on Wednesday morning.
"We say to Mr Netanyahu, you must change course," reiterating calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton also expressed his prayers and condolences to Frankcom's family but maintained the deaths of innocents ultimately stemmed from Hamas.
"It's a tragic circumstance," he told reporters in Sydney.
"The consequences we see, where innocent people are losing their lives in the Middle East, are a direct result of Hamas' attacks on the 7th of October."
Israeli president apologises for IDF airstrike
Israeli President Isaac Herzog apologised on Tuesday for the airstrike that killed at least seven aid workers in Gaza.
Netanyahu had earlier stopped short of apologising for the deaths, which he described as a "tragic case" that would be investigated "right to the end".
"It happens in war ... we will do everything so that this thing does not happen again," Netanyahu added.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has apologised for the deaths of the aid workers in Gaza. Source: AAP / Bart Maat
"These people are heroes, they run into the fire, not away from it," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said of the seven aid workers, speaking to reporters in Paris.
"We shouldn't have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at grave risk."
AFPTV footage showed the roof of a white vehicle emblazoned with the group's logo punctured with a blackened hole, alongside the mangled wreckage of other vehicles.
World Central Kitchen had earlier said a "targeted attack" by Israeli forces on Monday had killed its staff, which included Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish and US-Canadian citizens.
The charity, which has been delivering food aid to Gaza's starving population, said its convoy was clearly marked and it had coordinated with the Israeli military to avoid any danger.
Since Hamas' 7 October attack, Gaza has been under a near-complete siege, with the United Nations accusing Israel of preventing deliveries of humanitarian assistance to the 2.4 million Palestinians in the devastated territory.
UN agencies have repeatedly warned that northern Gaza is on the verge of famine, calling the situation a man-made crisis.
But Herzog said Israel was committed to "delivering and upgrading humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza".
The Israeli military also said Tuesday they were looking at ways to coordinate safe aid deliveries.
Hamas' 7 October attack resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign, aimed at destroying Hamas, has killed at least 32,916 people, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
