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ANGE:

From Schwartz Media, I’m Ange McCormack. This is 7am.

Israel’s killing of seven aid workers in Gaza has been met with international outrage.

The workers at World Central Kitchen, including an Australian woman Zomi Frankcom, were providing critical relief to Palestinians in the form of food.

Their deaths now risk entrenching starvation further - as aid organisations begin to doubt the protections and safety they should be offered in a war zone.

Today, world editor for The Saturday Paper Jonathan Pearlman, on Australia’s response to the Israeli attack, and whether this is a turning point in the Middle East.

It’s Friday, April 5.

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ANGE:

Jonathan, earlier this week, news broke about the killing of aid workers in Gaza from Israeli airstrikes. Firstly, can you tell me what happened?

JP:

What we know so far is that on Monday night, seven aid workers from an organisation called World Central Kitchen - it's a food charity - they were in a small coastal city called Deir al Balah in central Gaza. And, they'd just finished unloading about 100 tons of food that had been brought over from Cyprus.

Audio excerpt — Ch4 News:

“The charity had begun sending aid into Gaza by ship, as Israel appeared to want them to replace U.N. agencies. World Central Kitchen had been distributing 350,000 meals a day.”

JP:

This charity that they were working for has really pioneered this idea of bringing food over from Cyprus and, until this week, it had been successful.

Audio excerpt — Ch4 News:

“WCK were one of the first on the ground after the October 7th attacks. As well as food distribution, they had been bringing aid into Gaza by sea via a jetty that they'd constructed.”

JP:

The aid workers got into a convoy of three vehicles to head back to another of their stations in Rafah, in the south of Gaza. And according to World Central Kitchen, this convoy, like all its staff movements, had been coordinated with the Israeli military that let the military know about the convoy, to make sure that it was correctly identified as aid workers. They had markings and logos on their cars to show that they were aid vehicles. Two of the cars were armoured cars and at about 9:30pm on Monday night, the convoy was hit by Israeli fire, apparently from a drone.

Audio excerpt — Ch4 News:

“It's hard to comprehend why this clearly marked aid convoy that had coordinated its movements with the Israeli military was targeted.”

JP:

The three cars were hit separately, but images from the next morning showed that the wreckage was spread out over a couple of kilometres. It seems as though one car was hit first, the others kept on driving and then they were hit separately over quite a distance.

Audio excerpt — Ch4 News:

“Survivors from the strike on the first vehicle tried to take cover in the second one, which was hit next. Then the wounded from there tried to get to the third car.”

JP:

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, some army sources have said that the attack stemmed not from a lack of coordination between the army and aid organisations, but from poor discipline amongst commanders, particularly officers who are on the ground having too much control over the firing of missiles and over these attacks. But really, at this stage we still know very little about exactly how the strike took place.

Ange:

And what do we know about the workers who were killed in this attack?

JP:

So there were seven aid workers killed. Six of them were foreign citizens and there was one from Gaza. And the news of the attack came from really graphic imagery that emerged showing their bodies and passports with blood on it. And one of those passports was an Australian passport, and we now know that belonged to Zomi Frankcom. And, you know, we've learned quite a bit about her this week. She was an aid worker for World Central Kitchen. She was 43 years old, from Melbourne. She'd been working for Commonwealth Bank for several years and then decided to go and work in aid.

Audio excerpt — Zomi Frankcom:

“Hey, this is Zomi from World Central Kitchen. I am coming to you from Marrakech in Morocco, and we are at the Medina of one of the areas where people are camped out on the streets…”

JP:

She worked all around the world, and had been working for the past five years for this organisation.

Audio excerpt — Zomi Frankcom:

“Hey, this is Zomi and Chef Olivier, we're at the Deir El Balah kitchen and we’ve got the mise en place. Tell us a little bit about it, chef Oli...”

JP:

In videos for World Central Kitchen she talks about the challenges of supplying aid to Gaza. And last year in a speech, she talked about why food and food aid is so important. She was quoted as saying food is not just calories, it's hope, it's love. It's knowing people care. Her family issued a statement saying they were mourning and that she was kind, selfless and outstanding and leaves behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love. And, you know, it wasn't long after this news broke that the highest levels of Australian government, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, became involved and spoke up about some of these deaths.

Ange:

Yeah. And how has the Australian government responded to this news? And I guess how does Australia's response differ to previous reactions they've had to the war in Gaza?

JP:

So the prime minister Anthony Albanese, held a press conference on Wednesday morning and spoke about Zomi Frankcom’s death.

Audio excerpt — Anthony Albanese:

“This is an Australian who we can all be proud of. Someone who not only was in Gaza assisting people in need, but had in the past provided support for people in Bangladesh, in Pakistan, here in Australia after the bushfires.”

JP:

He said that he'd spoken to her brother. He spoke highly of her as a hero and a selfless Australian who'd been helping others. And he revealed that he'd spoken earlier that morning with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Audio excerpt — Anthony Albanese:

“I conveyed to Prime Minister Netanyahu, in very clear terms, that Australians were outraged by this death, by this tragedy of this fine Australian.”

JP:

And he said that he expressed in Netanyahu Australia's anger and concern over the death of Zomi Frankcom.

Audio excerpt — Anthony Albanese:

“Australians will look at this and be deeply, deeply concerned, that someone going about their work providing aid, in an exercise of humanity, could lose their life in this way is completely unacceptable.”

JP:

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also spoke about this and she said Israel must change course.

Audio excerpt — Penny Wong:

“Unless Israel, Mr. Netanyahu changes his course of action, Israel will continue to lose support. We say to Mr. Netanyahu, you must change course.”

JP:

She highlighted that the rules of war, including the protection of aid workers, must be followed.

Audio excerpt — Penny Wong:

“Wartime does not obviate responsibility for observing international humanitarian law, including the protection of aid workers, and the Australian government…”

JP:

And now it does seem that the language from Australian leaders and the Australian government is stronger. There is more urgency calling for accountability. Australia had also summoned the Israeli ambassador in this week. So, you know, it's clearly had an impact on Canberra's relations with Israel.

And of course, unfortunately, this isn't the first death of an aid worker during the Israeli campaign in Gaza. There’s reportedly been more than 196 deaths of local aid workers there. And, you know, international humanitarian law makes very clear that aid workers in war have to be protected, much like other civilians. It's possible that these deaths, because they were foreign nationals, will be seen as some sort of turning point. You know, the calls from the international community for a ceasefire and for accountability from Israel will grow louder, there’s been serious condemnation from the leaders of Britain and Canada, whose nationals were also killed. So the question then is, you know, will this have any sway over Israel and the way it's conducting its campaign there?

Ange:

After the break, what this means for the future of food supply in Gaza.

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Ange:

Jonathan, Australia isn't the only country that says it wants answers over how this attack could have happened. What exactly is the international community asking for, and how has Netanyahu's government responded?

JP:

Well, the white house held a special press conference on the attack on Tuesday.

Audio excerpt — John Kirby:

“Good afternoon everybody. As you all know, President Biden…”

JP:

John Kirby, who's the National Security Council spokesperson, said the administration was outraged by the deaths of the aid workers.

Audio excerpt — John Kirby:

“We were outraged to learn of an IDF strike that killed a number of civilian humanitarian workers yesterday from the World Central Kitchen, which has been relentless in working to get food to those who are hungry in Gaza and, quite frankly, around the world.”

JP:

And that the administration expected broad investigation into what happened.

Audio excerpt — John Kirby:

“We understand that a preliminary investigation has been completed today and presented to the Army chief of staff, and we'll obviously look to see what they discover in this preliminary one. But we expect the broader investigation to be conducted and to be done so in a swift and comprehensive manner. We hope that those findings will be made public, and that there is appropriate accountability held.”

JP:

Joe Biden has issued a statement this week. He said he was outraged and heartbroken at the deaths of the aid workers, and he criticised Israel for its approach to aid and really to its conduct of the war. So I think Biden, after this attack, wanted to send a message to Israel to reinforce his call for Israel to change its tactics, to allow more aid in and more aid safely, and to do more to avoid civilian casualties. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, released a video statement in response to the news. He's been in hospital, actually undergoing an operation for a hernia.

Audio excerpt — Benjamin Netanyahu:

“Unfortunately, within the last day, there was a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip. This happens in wartime. We're thoroughly looking into it, we're in contact with their governments, and we will do everything to ensure it doesn't happen again.”

JP:

And I think it's clear, you know, Netanyahu, you know, understood the depth of international anger over the attack.

Ange:

And Jonathan, while the international community is demanding answers, is there anything that countries like Australia or the US can really do if those answers or responses aren't satisfactory? If there isn't this level of transparency or change in the conduct of the war by Israel, what are they willing to actually do?

JP:

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked about this on 730 by Sarah Ferguson this week.

Audio excerpt — Sarah Ferguson:

“Is it time for Australia to change its position on the war in Gaza? Are you calling now for an immediate ceasefire?”

Audio excerpt — Anthony Albanese:

“Well, we have called for a humanitarian ceasefire and a sustainable ceasefire.”

JP:

And I think by sustainable, he's referring to some sort of political process at the end of all this.

Audio excerpt — Sarah Ferguson:

“Let me ask you a question from the Australian end of this story, which is Greens senator today, Marine Farooqi says this attack is a direct result of the continued support provided by the Australian government to Israel. Let me put the question like this. Are there any limits to Australia's support for Israel's right to defend itself?”

Audio excerpt — Anthony Albanese:

“We have very clearly said Israel, like other states, has a right to defend itself, but how it defends itself matters. We've said that from the very beginning.”

JP:

You know, this is a conflict that's devastating at the moment, but it's obviously a conflict that's gone on for decades and shows no signs, really, of abating. And I think, it's clear that Albanese, Biden and much of the international community, recognises that there needs to be some sort of political, some sort of diplomatic process at the end of all this.

Audio excerpt — Anthony Albanese:

“Because I think that Australia can play a role. Not in partisanship, but in trying to help to craft a long term solution, because that's what's required here, because we are seeing the consequences of this conflict are catastrophic.”

JP:

Penny Wong was asked about whether Australia would consider sanctions on Israel, and she declined to comment. And the white house spokesperson John Kirby, was also asked about whether the US would take any action, or if there was a red line that would make the US reconsider military support for Israel.

Audio excerpt — Journalist:

“So how can the U.S. continue to send aid to Israel without any conditions?”

Audio excerpt — John Kirby:

“We're not sending aid to Israel. We're sending aid into Gaza. And that's…”

Audio excerpt — Journalist:

“The weapons. How can the U.S. continue to send military aid…”

Audio excerpt — John Kirby:

“Oh, military assistance.”

Audio excerpt — Journalist:

“Without any conditions? Is there no red line that can be crossed?”

Audio excerpt — John Kirby:

“You know, we've had this discussion, you and me, quite a bit from up here. They’re still under a viable threat of Hamas. We're still going to make sure that they can defend themselves and that the 7th of October doesn't happen again. That doesn't mean that it's a free pass…”

Ange:

And finally Jonathan, you know, these aid workers were providing food, which is a critical resource in Gaza right now. We know how starvation and hunger in Gaza is causing death and desperation for Palestinians. What does this event and, you know, the rising death toll of aid workers mean for them?

JP:

Yes well, tragically, it's going to have serious consequences for the people of Gaza and the flow of aid into Gaza. It's already an extremely bleak outlook for the people there who have nowhere to go, and often no food to feed themselves. We're now going to see aid flows interrupted as a result of the attack this week. So World Central Kitchen has paused their efforts, and other organisations have followed, are freezing their operations until they feel that they can deliver aid safely. There are also concerns that some international aid workers, you know, may not want to work in Gaza now, as a result of this attack. According to a recent report by a coalition of aid groups, hunger has reached catastrophic levels there. Last month, they warned that more than 1.1 million people in Gaza are facing famine.

The logistics of providing aid in this sort of situation, you know, with Israeli attacks continuing with a densely populated population, it's extremely difficult. And so the humanitarian front continues to face challenges, and I think on the broader, sort of, military front, in the course of the war, there are hopes of a ceasefire. There are still ceasefire talks going on in Cairo this week. But, you know, the war shows no immediate signs of ending. So, the attack reflects tragedy in a long war that's still unfolding.

Ange:

Jonathan, thanks so much for speaking with me today.

JP:

Thanks Ange.

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Ange:

Also in the news today…

People in northern Gaza are surviving on an average of 245 calories per day, according to an analysis of food supply in the region by Oxfam.

245 calories is less than a can of beans and is only about 12% of the recommended daily intake of calories per person.

There’s an estimated 300,000 people trapped in northern Gaza.

And,

Northern Territory police have revealed there was a riot at the Don Dale youth detention facility earlier this week, which saw children detained there climb onto the roof.

The NT government promised to close Don Dale in 2017, following outrage over children being shackled to chairs and tear-gassed.

NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler condemned the behaviour of the minors, calling them ‘the worst behaved young people in the territory’.

7am is a daily show from The Monthly and The Saturday Paper.

It’s produced by Kara Jensen-Mackinnon, Zoltan Fecso, Cheyne Anderson and Yeo Choong.

Our senior producer is Chris Dengate. Our technical producer is Atticus Bastow.

Our editor is Scott Mitchell. Sarah McVeigh is our head of audio.

Erik Jensen is our editor-in-chief.

Mixing by Andy Elston, Travis Evans, and Atticus Bastow.

Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Audio.

I’m Ange McCormack, this is 7am. Thanks for listening, we will be back again next week.

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