Foreign Minister Penny Wong has called for a “thorough investigation” into the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency workers in Gaza after Israeli forces opened fire on their convoy.
A group of aid workers were found buried last week alongside a United Nations employee and a number of severely damaged vehicles in a scene that officials described as a “mass grave”.
The pile of bodies was uncovered on March 27 by workers and paramedics from the UN and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
In footage released by the UN Humanitarian Affairs office (Ocha), a group of workers in orange vests can be seen pulling the bodies out of a large sand bank before placing them under tarps or in body bags.
Senator Wong told Insiders on Sunday that Australia has joined international calls for an independent inquiry into the killings, as fresh video emerged overnight which appears to contradict Israel’s official explanation for why troops shot at the men.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has called for a “thorough investigation” into the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency workers in Gaza Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
“What I have said is there needs to be a full and thorough investigation into this,” she said.
“What I have consistently said since the conflict in Gaza began … and since the horrific events of October 7 with the terrorist attack by Hamas, is that we want a ceasefire, we want hostages to be returned and we want international law and international humanitarian law to be observed by all parties.
“International humanitarian law requires among other things humanitarian workers to be protected.”
Senator Wong conceded that “tragically Gaza is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be an aid worker”.
“We are working with other countries on a declaration for the protection of humanitarian personnel,” she said.
“It’s something I have engaged with many countries on because it is time that the world remembered and reaffirmed the commitment we all gave each other in the aftermath of World War II that we would protect humanitarian workers as well as civilians.”
While the IDF has announced an investigation into the incident, it is being managed by the military’s general staff command.
Red Crescent volunteers exhume the bodies of fifteen paramedics and aid workers that were killed by the IDF and buried in a mass grave on the 23rd of March 2025. Picture: Palestinian Red Crescent/ X
“What the world wants to see is a proper and thorough inquiry,” Senator Wong said.
In a statement, the Palestinian Red Crescent said it was “devastated” by the killing of its eight medics.
“This massacre of our team is a tragedy, not only for us … but also for humanitarian work and humanity,” a spokesman said.
“The occupation’s targeting of Red Crescent medics, despite the protected status of their mission and the Red Crescent emblem, can only be considered a war crime punishable under international humanitarian law, which the occupation continues to violate before the eyes of the entire world,” they said.
“The PRCS demands that the perpetrators of this war crime be held accountable.”
The UN has catalogued the killing of at least 1,060 healthcare workers in the 18 months since Israel launched its war on Gaza.
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