The first confirmed Australian victim killed in the Hamas attacks in Israel has been identified as a Sydney-born grandmother.
Galit Carbone, 66, was found outside her home in the Israeli kibbutz Be’eri, about 5km from the Gaza Strip border.
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More than 100 bodies have been found in Be’eri, a self-sustaining farming community of 1000 residents near Gaza, which was one of the first places targeted by militants who breached the border early Saturday morning, and among the hardest hit.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong confirmed Carbone was among those killed by Hamas.
“On behalf of the government, I wish to convey my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Ms Carbone,” Wong said on Wednesday.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to her family in Israel and in Australia.”
Carbone, who was born and raised in Sydney, then raised her three children in Israel where she had worked as a librarian.
Her family say she was murdered “in cold blood” when heavily armed militants stormed the kibbutz.
Carbone’s cousin Julian Cappe told News Corp the family in Israel was in “a state of numb shock” after learning she was among the 107 victims.
“Over the last few days they’ve just gone through all the ranges of emotion, from hearing what happened to thinking that she’s been a prisoner to hearing confirmation that she was killed,” he said.
“We’re not sure if she was killed in her home or dragged out and killed, but her body was not found in her house.
“She may have been dragged around.”
Of the 107 bodies discovered in the aftermath, most were local residents of the kibbutz although some were Israeli security forces, a search and rescue spokesperson told CNN.
Heavily armed militants arrived in the kibbutz on motorbikes about 7am Saturday, just half an hour after they breached the typically high-tech, tightly guarded border wall between Gaza and Israel, videos show.
Civilians were killed and taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities and videos obtained and authenticated by CNN.
‘No excuse’
The surprise Hamas assault killed more than 1000 in Israel, prompting a lethal volley of retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that has killed at least 900 people.
The death toll in Gaza is expected to rise as Israel cuts off supplies of electricity, food, water and fuel to the Palestinian enclave.
Wong slammed the Hamas assaults, saying Australia “unequivocally condemns” the attacks.
“There is no excuse for the deliberate killing of innocent civilians,” she said.
“The loss of life from these attacks has been devastating and unacceptable.
“Australia has called for the attacks to stop and for the immediate and unconditional release of all those taken hostage.
“Our thoughts are with all those killed and injured in these attacks and all others affected.
“Australia continues to urge the protection of civilian lives at all times.”
– With CNN
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