Extract from ABC News
Analysis
There have been many moments described as "tipping points" since the war in Gaza began nearly six months ago. But this week's deadly Israeli air strike on an aid convoy may prove to be one of the most significant.
It's triggered international condemnation, demands for detailed answers, some of the strongest criticism from the US president to date, and even a rare apology (of sorts) from Israel.
In Australia, the reaction has been one of fury. At least from one side of politics. We'll come back to Peter Dutton's reluctance to offer any criticism of Israel.
For its part, the Albanese government has been steadily hardening its position on Israel, as the civilian death toll in Gaza has climbed.
A shift to anger
In December, Australia voted in favour of a UN resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of hostages being held by Hamas. In February, the prime minister joined his counterparts from Canada and New Zealand to implore Israel not to launch a ground invasion of the besieged city of Rafah. In March, Australia announced it would restore funding for the UN aid agency UNRWA, despite Israel's protests.
But this week the tone from the prime minister and foreign minister has shifted to public expressions of anger, after the air strike on the World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy on Monday night.
Seven WCK staff were killed in the strike, including Australian woman Zomi Frankcom. It's taken the total number of aid workers killed in this conflict to 196, according to the United Nations.
While still acknowledging the need to avoid fanning anti-Semitism and maintain social cohesion, Anthony Albanese is now freely expressing his outrage towards Israel.
As soon as the death was confirmed on Tuesday, Albanese requested a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The pair had only spoken once since the October 7 Hamas attack, and that conversation took weeks to lock in.
This time, Netanyahu was on the phone within hours. The pair spoke yesterday morning for 20 minutes.
It was a frank conversation and Albanese held a press conference soon afterwards, repeatedly referring to the "anger and concern" he had expressed to Netanyahu.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong also spoke to her Israeli counterpart and told him this tragedy will cost Israel support amongst the Australian people.
So, beyond expressing anger, what will Australia do about it?
There's no talk of sanctions being imposed. Australia won't be recalling its ambassador, nor booting out any Israeli diplomats based here.
But Albanese and Wong are both very loudly demanding "accountability" for what's happened.
What does accountability look like
What exactly does that mean?
One of Australia's best-known leaders in international aid, Reverend Tim Costello says accountability means charges should be laid. "If innocent lives have been lost, someone should be charged," he said.
The prime minister is not going that far. Nor is the foreign minister. At least not yet. They aren't being prescriptive about what "accountability" must look like. For now, the ball is in Israel's court.
So far, Israel is providing few details about how this happened or indeed how it will be investigated.
The chief of staff of Israel's Defence Force, Herzi Halevi, released a recorded message saying an "initial" investigation found the strike "was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers", adding the IDF was "sorry for the unintentional harm". He's keen to shut down suggestions this was in any way deliberate.
This "grave mistake", Halevi said, followed a "misidentification — at night during a war in very complex conditions".
Exactly how such a "misidentification" could occur when the aid agency had carefully coordinated its movements with the IDF is unclear.
"An independent body will investigate the incident thoroughly", Halevi said, suggesting this would be completed in the "coming days".
Just how this investigation will be conducted and how "independent" it will be is equally unclear.
Australia will be keeping a close eye on this process before deciding on any next steps.
The US, which carries far more influence over Israel, is making similar demands for answers. President Joe Biden said he's "outraged and heartbroken" by the deaths of the aid workers and the investigation "must be swift, it must bring accountability, and its findings must be made public".
The UK's conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also wants a full and transparent investigation. In a phone call, Sunak told Netanyahu the situation in Gaza is "increasingly intolerable" and condemned the "appalling" air strike on the aid workers.
Netanyahu has expressed his condolences, but there's little sign of remorse. On social media, the Israeli Prime Minister suggested "this happens in war".
Opposition continues to back Israel
Penny Wong doesn't accept that excuse. Tim Costello says the comment "smacks to me of impunity and recklessness".
It's clear the US, UK and others won't accept the "sorry, this stuff happens in war" explanation, either.
Israel is being pressed by its friends and allies to publicly detail how such a "misidentification" could happen, even if that involves embarrassing admissions of incompetence or a lack of care for civilian lives.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, by contrast, offered no criticism of Israel in his reaction to the tragedy.
He expressed thoughts, prayers, and condolences for the family of Zomi Frankcom. He said it was a "tragic circumstance where an aid worker has lost her life in a very difficult war zone". But the opposition leader isn't budging in his support of Israel. He says the loss of innocent lives is a "direct result of Hamas' attacks on the 7th of October".
The opposition leader's steadfast backing of Israel, and refusal to criticise any of its actions, reflects the sentiment amongst most of his Coalition colleagues on this issue.
But it's increasingly out of step with Australia's allies.
Even Donald Trump says Israel needs to "finish up" its war. While defending Israel's initial response to the Hamas attacks, the Republican presidential nominee says Israel is "losing a lot of support".
There's certainly been a shift in sentiment from the Australian government this week. If not from an unmoved opposition.
David Speers is National Political Lead and host of Insiders, which airs on ABC TV at 9am on Sunday or on iview.
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