Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. In response to a question from Senator Waters yesterday in relation to the explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, which has resulted in further tragic loss of innocent lives, you correctly at the time noted:

There are obviously conflicting reports about what has occurred.

Overnight, President Biden has stated that, based on US information, it appears to be as a result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza. A spokesperson for the United States National Security Council further clarified:

… our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts, and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza …

Minister, what is Australia's assessment or understanding of responsibility for the tragic explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza?