Australian PM Confirms Aid Worker Killed in Gaza Strike Was Australian National

Destruction in Gaza caused by Israeli airstrikes (AP)
Destruction in Gaza caused by Israeli airstrikes (AP)
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Australian PM Confirms Aid Worker Killed in Gaza Strike Was Australian National

Destruction in Gaza caused by Israeli airstrikes (AP)
Destruction in Gaza caused by Israeli airstrikes (AP)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday confirmed one of several aid workers killed in a strike on Gaza was an Australian national.

Albanese said volunteer Zomi Frankcom had been doing "extraordinarily valuable work" helping distribute food in the besieged Gaza Strip with aid outfit World Central Kitchen.

"This is completely unacceptable. Australia expects full accountability for the deaths of aid workers," Albanese said, before offering his "sincere condolences" to Frankcom's family, AFP reported.

"I didn't have the honor of knowing her," he added.

"She just wanted to help out through this charity. That says everything about the character of this young woman."

The bodies of four foreign aid workers and their Palestinian driver were brought to a hospital in the town of Deir el-Balah after an Israeli strike targeted their vehicle, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

World Central Kitchen is one of two NGOs spearheading efforts to deliver aid by boat from Cyprus.

Australia will be seeking an explanation from Israeli officials, Albanese said.

"We want full accountability for this, because this is a tragedy that should never have occurred."

The Israeli military has said it was "conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident".



Night-time Russian Attack Kills 4 People in Ukraine's Capital

Firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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Night-time Russian Attack Kills 4 People in Ukraine's Capital

Firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital with a barrage of drones and missiles in the early morning on Saturday, leaving at least four people dead.

Russia launched 39 Shahed drones, other simulator drones and four ballistic missiles according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Ukrainian air defense forces shot down two missiles and 24 drones. A further 14 drone simulators were lost in location, the statement said.

The four were killed after a shot-down missile fell over the Shevchenkivskyi district, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Timur Tkachenko. There was also falling debris in the Desnyansky district, he said.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said that in the Shevchenkivskyi district, windows were broken and there was smoke at the entrance of a residential building, adding that a water supply pipeline was also damaged.

Klitschko also said the Lukyanivska metro station was shuttered after the attacks damaged its glass entrance.

Drones and missiles were shot down across Ukraine, in the Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Donetsk regions.