lewis jackson
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Israel still does not have a satisfactory explanation for the deaths of seven aid workers last week, the prime minister said. Anthony Albanese Australia said on Monday it had appointed a senior military official to investigate Israel's investigation into the incident.
Israel said Friday that soldiers mistakenly believed they were attacking Hamas militants when an international group of World Central Kitchen staff, including Australia's “Zomi” Francom, were killed in an airstrike. did. Two police officers were dismissed from duty, and other officers were also disciplined.
Albanese said the deaths were not fully accounted for. He added that given the nearly 200 aid workers killed in the conflict, Israel needs to provide more information about what steps it will take to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“I cannot say that the explanation is satisfactory at this point,” he said in an interview with state broadcaster ABC. “We need proper accountability, we need full transparency about the situation, and I think that's what Australians expect.”
Mr Albanese declined to say what action Australia considered appropriate or whether it would consider diplomatic sanctions if Israel failed to provide further information.
Australia on Monday appointed a retired Air Force general to investigate the Israeli investigation and advise Canberra on whether it is sufficient and whether further action is needed to hold those responsible to account.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said last month that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was damaging the country's international standing with the way he was handling the war.
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Miral Fahmy)
