Birmingham says it is “naive for any of us to pretend” that “mistakes and tragedies do not happen in war”.
They happen all the time. It’s terrible. We wish it weren’t the case. In this relation, we seek to engage with Israel and we expect the government to engage with Israel to understand how accountability can be had for the mistake that occurred and how it can be prevented through changes to procedures.
A reminder that the three cars that formed the aid convoy that was struck by the IDF in Gaza was hit sequentially after the aid organisation notified the IDF they intended to travel through the area and received assurances they could do so safely.
Birmingham ‘not qualified’ to say if Israel has breached international law
Asked about whether he believes the Israeli government has breached international law, Birmingham says he is “not qualified nor in possession of the facts to give that legal judgment”.
What I will respect are the processes under way. We want to make sure they are transparent and they are fully addressing the two pillars I have spoken about, in relation to accountability around the incident and changes to procedures to ensure that it is not repeated again. None of us should lose sight of the broader moral context in which the war is fought.
The senator has then repeated frequent criticisms levelled by the Israeli government that has accused Hamas of “embedding itself” into civilian infrastructure.
‘Not the only tragedy”: Birmingham on Zomi Fankcom death
Birmingham says that the Israel government is following its processes and the opposition will reserve judgments until its investigations are included.
Our expectation is to see Israel continue the investigations they have under way, to use the processes that they have, and for there to be transparency around that. There are two issues. One relates to accountability for this incident and the other relates to changes to procedure to ensure that other workers – this is notthe only tragedy involving humanitarian workers – and not the only tragedy to have occurred in many other conflicts involving aid workers.
Birmingham says “there is a responsibility on Israel to make changes to their procedures to prevent such tragedies from happening again.”
Coalition wants to see ‘clear action’ on Zomi Frankcom investigation
The opposition shadow foreign minister, SimonBirmingham, says that the Coalition wants to see “clear action in terms of understanding” how the death of Zomi Frankcom occurred.
We want to see there is clear action in terms of understanding how the tragedy will occur, importantly, how it will not occur again, because seeing humanitarian aid flowing into Gaza requires humanitarian workers to operate safely and that requires Israel to clearly to look carefully at procedural failure that occurred that enabled this tragedy to happen.
Birmingham said the decision of the Israeli government to stand down two officers and reprimand three commanders “shows accountability.”
There are continuing processes, I understand. I had conversations with Israel’s ambassador to Australia, to ensure that we understand the steps that are being taken. Of course, the government has a higher level of dialogue with the Israel government.
Coalition has misjudged gravity of Gaza war: Husic
The federal Labor minister, Ed Husic, has accused the Coalition of misjudging the gravity of the moment, including the need for the west to “demonstrate our values” by insisting that Israel observes the laws of war.
Husic said the Australian government had called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza since December when it backed a resolution at the UN general assembly along with 152 other countries. Husic said Hamas must also release the Israeli hostages that it still holds in order to make any ceasefire “durable”.
Husic told Sky News today:
I think there’s another element to this as well. The other element is: where’s the Coalition on this?
Because, frankly, the Coalition has not brought itself to be able to express its concern either to people domestically who are deeply worried about the way in which the tragic loss of life [has unfolded] and the number of people killed in this operation.
But the other point I would make is in the international landscape, this is the most contestable it has been in decades. And the worst thing for the west is a perception of hypocrisy when it comes to crises like this. We need to be able to demonstrate our values, and in particular our defence of international humanitarian law. And the Coalition has been utterly silent on this, or at other times been very weak, particularly this week, in acknowledging that Israel crossed a line, and that Zomi Frankcom paid the price for the crossing of that line.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said on Wednesday that it was “a tragic circumstance where an aid worker has lost her life in a very difficult war zone” but said the loss of life in the Middle East at the moment was “a direct result of Hamas’ attacks on the 7th of October”. Dutton said:
Obviously, nobody wants to see conflict of any circumstance in the Middle East, but it is a reality, and our thoughts, our prayers and condolences obviously go out to Zomi’s family and to her friends and to those who are there serving at the moment, in harm’s way, trying to provide support to people who are in a very difficult situation.
IDF attack on aid vehicles ‘a grave mistake’: Ed Husic
The Israeli military on Friday night published a summary of initial findings, saying the strike on the aid vehicles on Monday was “a grave mistake” stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the standard operating procedures.
Asked whether he accepted the incident in which Australian Zomi Frankcom was killed as accidental, the Labor minister Ed Husic said:
It would be, if I may say, it would be the easiest route to use the bad apples defence here, that it was a couple of people that operated outside of policy.
The IDF announced that a major and a colonel would be dismissed from their positions, while three others would be formally reprimanded.
But Husic told Sky News today:
I believe this reflects a systematic failure within the Israeli government to genuinely commit to the observance of international humanitarian law. That’s why you’ve seen 33,000 Palestinians killed, 14,500 of which are children, and 77,000 injured. And then on top of that, 200 aid workers [and] 100 journalists. I mean, this comes down to a failure by the Israeli government to observe international law distinguishing between combatant and civilian.
Husic said the plan to announce a special adviser to the Australian government to provide advice on the investigation was “a very big step by our government”. He said the government wanted Australians “to have the confidence that we get to the bottom of what’s happened” and ensure full transparency and full accountability.
Killing of Gaza aid workers by IDF reflects 'systematic failure': Ed Husic
Daniel Hurst
The federal industry minister, Ed Husic, says the killing of aid workers – including the Australian citizen Zomi Frankcom – in Gaza “reflects a systematic failure within the Israeli government to genuinely commit to the observance of international humanitarian law”.
Husic told Sky News this morning:
In terms of Zomi, she dedicated herself to help the lives of others - she shouldn’t have lost her life in pursuit of that ambition.
This has clearly deeply resonated in a number of countries where in particular seven aid workers lost their lives in once incident, but unfortunately Zomi joins nearly 200 humanitarian workers who have lost their lives in this conflict. This is not a small thing because it goes to the heart of concerns that have persisted around observance of international humanitarian law.
You cannot target humanitarian workers. You cannot target journalists. You cannot target schools, hospitals. You’ve got a responsibility under international humanitarian law to distinguish clearly between combatants and civilians and protect civilians.
The Israeli government has repeatedly accused Hamas of embedding itself in civilian infrastructure.
Major flooding in parts of Sydney as Queensland braces for heavy rain
Several Sydney communities have been flooded following record-breaking downpours, as south-east Queensland braces for heavy rain.
Further river rises and moderate to major flooding is expected along the Hawkesbury River, north-west of Sydney, into Sunday morning after the week ended with 200mm of rain across much of the catchment.
The river was expected to peak above the major flooding level at North Richmond on Sunday morning, albeit two metres below the peaks reached in major floods in 2021 and 2022.
⚡ Thunderstorm Forecast for tomorrow (Sunday): Storms possible for parts of the southeast and northeast of NSW, with a chance of Severe Storms in the far northeast bringing Damaging Winds and Heavy Rainfall with potential flash flooding. Current warnings: https://t.co/jJWt2wlxelpic.twitter.com/MXb2lCts0S
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) April 6, 2024
More than 107 warnings were in place late on Saturday night, with 32 emergency alerts still in place on Sunday morning.
Sydney residents in flood-affected areas are waiting for their chance to begin the clean-up after record-breaking downpours. More than 107 warnings were in place on Saturday night, with 32 emergency alerts and 352 homes still affected by evacuation orders. The Hawkesbury River is expected to peak above the major flooding level at North Richmond on Sunday, although at lower levels than in 2021 and 2022.
Exxon subsidiary Esso has reportedly suffered a gas pipeline rupture at the Kingfish West gas platform in the Gippsland Basin. The leak is believed to involve a gas pipeline running along the sea floor, which leaked hydrocarbons into the water from about 1pm on Saturday with a sheen visible on the ocean surface.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
