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It’s a war.

That an Australian working for an aid organisation in Gaza was killed is sad, no doubt. But if you go to a war zone, you know you are taking a huge risk.

And the risk is multiplied when the war zone is controlled by a ruthless terrorist organisation who uses the population as human shields, making Israel’s commitment to the safety of civilians that much more difficult.

Zomi Frankcom died when an Israeli missile, launched from a drone, hit the car she was travelling in as part of her charity work with Global World Kitchen.

Six other aid workers, from the UK, Poland and the US, were also killed in the strike.

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told journalists:

“It was a mistake that followed a misidentification, at night, during a war, in very complex conditions. It shouldn’t have happened.

“This incident was a grave mistake. Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza. We are sorry for the unintentional harm to the members of WCK. We share in the grief of their families as well as the entire World Central Kitchen organisation from the bottom of our hearts.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s ambassador to Australia have also expressed their regret.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing, though initial reports suggest Israeli commanders had mistakenly believed there was a terrorist travelling with the aid group.

But the reaction from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been over the top.

Blatant Bias

He told Israel that Australians were “outraged”.

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

Our Foreign Minister Penny Wong was in lock-step, telling Sky News:

“The death of any aid worker is outrageous and unacceptable. I don’t want Israel to be under any illusions about how outraged we are at the death of an Australian citizen in these circumstances.”

Outraged?

Sad, certainly.

But most Australians would be sanguine about the consequences of war — a war started by Hamas.

Hamas should be the target of “outrage”.

No one is happy about an aid worker being killed, but everyone understands that if you volunteer to work in Gaza while Israeli troops are trying to root out terrorists, you’re taking your life in your hands.

Oh, the Israeli troops are also trying to rescue hostages.

But the Australian Government doesn’t seem particularly outraged that Hamas continues to hold Israeli civilians, kidnapped five months ago, in captivity.

Where is the daily outrage from the Australian Government that 134 people — men, women and children — continue to be held hostage?

Is that the sound of outrage? Or is that the sound of crickets?

It’s funny, you know. I don’t recall Anthony Albanese being particularly outraged at the death of Australian grandmother Galit Carbone, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists during their killing spree on October 7.

Misdirection

As for Wong’s insistence that Zomi Frankcom’s death was “unacceptable”, I think all Australians accept that, in the fog of war, mistakes will be made and innocent lives will be lost.

No one likes it. But no one is stupid enough to think it can’t or won’t happen.

Wong, who just recently restored Australian funding to aid agency UNRWA despite its complicity in the October 7 attack on Israel, continued:

“I have said this privately, that unless Israel changes course, it will continue to lose support.”

Change tack? Really? How?

Should Israel not hunt down every last Hamas terrorist?

Should Israel not eliminate Hamas completely?

Don’t forget, the commanders of Hamas have publicly said they fully intend to launch a thousand more attacks just like the one on October 7.

Has Penny Wong completely forgotten the cause of the war? The Israelis are fighting this war with both hands tied behind their backs and on four fronts.

Absolute fury over one Australian death in the fog of war. Ok. But barely an acknowledgement of over 1200 dead Israelis slaughtered in a terror attack. It says a great deal about our government.

It feels like the Albanese Government is seeking to use death as a pretext for abandoning the only safe, free democracy in the Middle East to, instead, support an Iranian proxy government in Gaza.

The PM’s contrived outrage is nothing more than populist politics aimed at certain electorates. Sadly, this government values politics over principle and votes over its allies.

Modern Labor detests Israel. They just needed some political cover to throw the switch to outright condemnation, and sadly, now they have it.

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Originally published at The James Macpherson Report.

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