DARWIN: Foreign Minister, Senator Penny Wong, has escaped unscathed from a missile attack on the Garma Music Festival early this morning that narrowly avoided killing or injuring dozens, perhaps hundreds, of attendees.

The minister was substituting for Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, at this year’s annual indigenous music festival held at Gulkula in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory when the missile barrage began just before dawn.

Senator Wong inspected the damage caused by the attack which flattened several buildings at the festival grounds and its main stage which was hit several times including by one missile that failed to detonate. (main picture)

She did not make any comment, with a spokesperson saying the Foreign Minister would speak to the media soon.

“At this stage all I can confirm is that the Department of Foreign Affairs has advised that responsibility for the missile attack has been claimed by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF),” the spokesperson said.

At a news conference in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, (below) confirmed the attack had been launched by the IDF but refused to apologise for it.

“As far as I know it was a simple mistake by the brave IDF officer responsible for setting targets,” Mr Netanyahu said.

“The officer concerned mistakenly believed that it was the Gaza Music Festival he was targeting and I stress that under the IDF’s rules of engagement, leaving aside the mix-up over the name, he had every right to target the festival.

“For a start it was full of women and children so it met our genocidal criteria, plus I am told that none of the songs performed so far at the festival have explicitly condemned the October 2023 attack by Hamas on innocent Israeli citizens, and we are in the middle of a ceasefire which gives Israel the right to attack anyone anywhere at any time with our endless supply of US-supplied ammo.”

Mr Netanyahu pushed back when asked if he would apologise for the mistake.

“That question is blatantly antisemitic,” he said, before adding when the questioner persisted, “Quiet. Quiet obviously non-kosher piggy.”

Senator Wong’s spokesperson said the Foreign Minister would hold her own news conference soon.

“She is just been delayed a bit while she practises the very serious look and the slow, semi-baritone voice she uses on these sort of occasions to make it look and sound like she’s saying something meaningful,” the spokesperson said.

When asked what the Foreign Minister might say, the spokesperson said: “She’ll say what she always says, that Israel has a right to defend itself.”

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