Australian Council for International Development Media Release
The Australian Council for International Development, the peak body for the aid and humanitarian agencies, has today expressed its deepest condolences to the family of killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom.
Ms Frankcom was killed, along with four of her fellow aid workers, by an Israeli air strike in Gaza. She was working with the World Central Kitchen helping deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza.
“It is truly tragic that an Australian aid worker, working to provide food to starving civilians, has been killed in this fashion,” said ACFID chief executive Marc Purcell.
“Our deepest and sincerest condolences go out to Zomi’s family, friends and employer. She died doing truly heroic work.
“The Australian government seeks to uphold the international rule of law. The laws of war protecting humanitarian workers and civilians are being flagrantly disregarded by the Israeli Government and Defence Forces.
“Humanitarian workers in conflict zones should be ensured safety by combatants to carry out life saving responses. Time and time again during this conflict we have seen Israeli forces demonstrate disregard for the safety of humanitarian workers with tragic results, with at least 196 aid workers killed to date.
“Not only are Israeli military forces acting recklessly, they have, in fact, been using the denial of food as a weapon of war.
“We call on the Australian Government to urge the Israeli Government to cease attacks on aid convoys and to allow for the safe land passage of humanitarian assistance. Further, Australia should protest in the strongest possible terms the starvation of civilians. Starving civilians is a breach of the laws of war, international law and common decency.
“The Israeli Defence Force is blocking aid from entry into northern Gaza which means hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starving to death. In the south, humanitarian agencies are under enormous strain as a result of airstrikes.”
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Don’t expect anything but platitudes and bullshit from a government that had it all lined up when they took over from the worst mob of dickwits and incompetents,and the worst prime minister in our history.Albanese and his pathetic ,reactionary and sorely disappointing crew are doing a wonderful job of attaining minority government…if they’re lucky.Looking elsewhere…hello Greens/Independents.
Harry Lime
This cannot be sheeted home to the Albanese government !!
If Israel had abided by the UN Security Council resolution for an immediate cease fire or the demands of the International Court of Justice this tragedy would never have occurred.
The International Criminal Court had far less evidence of war crimes to indict Vladimir Putin. It now remains for the ICJ to indict Benjamin Netanyahu and issue a warrant for his arrest as a war criminal.
Australia needs to join the international community in condemning the actions of the Israeli government in using starvation as a weapon of war.
No further evidence is needed beyond the interview last night on ABC/7.30, with Albanese, as to our status in the Israel invasion of Gaza.
We are 100% complicit, as a nation, in the genocide and general acceptance of Israel as war criminals who are allowed to breach each, and every legal convention needed to qualify as decent citizens.
Once again beholden to the septics.
On the same day the new president of Indonesia was in Beijing showing his respect for what comes next.
The entirety of the war is an abomination. The hypocrisy of sobs over this instance is mind blowing, when the IDF & Netanyahu / Likud have been en masse killing Palestinian citizens aid workers and journalists since the get-go, and systematically blocking aid goods, services (incl water, sewerage, electricity & comms) and decimating homes and infrastructure.
And yet many sobbing now, have not been throughout, and are still supplying weaponry to the IDF.
I’ve just been reading about “Lavender” the AI system the IDF has been using to select its dumb bomb targets. The parameters for “acceptable” civilian deaths are chilling.