Australia news LIVE: Hockey says corruption flourishing Washington, Israelis mourn October 7 attacks

Joe Hockey, Australia’s former US ambassador, has said there was “no doubt” that corruption had been allowed to “flourish” in Washington DC.

“It’s a very grey line here in Washington DC between proper government processes and corruption,” Hockey told 7:30 last night.

He said corruption had become more apparent over recent years.

“It’s well known that the various parts of the US government are very forward-leaning in their partnerships with the private sector, and as long as that’s transparent, it’s fine.

In the Gaza Strip, devastated by three years of Israeli bombardment, Palestinians sheltering among the ruins of destroyed cities recalled life before a war that displaced nearly the entire population and tore apart families.

Israel’s bombardment and ground operations in Gaza after the October 7 attack have killed more than 74,000 people, including at least 1400 killed in the past year since a US-brokered ceasefire, which halted major fighting but has failed to stop Israeli attacks or secure the disarmament of Hamas.

The anniversary is the first since the October 10, 2025, ceasefire deal, which has left Israel in control of around two-thirds of Gaza, where it has demolished remaining buildings and ordered residents out.

Hamas controls the remaining third of the territory, a narrow strip on the coast where the 2 million population mostly live in makeshift tents and bombed-out buildings.

Israelis gathered in silence on Wednesday in a kibbutz near the Gaza border that was overrun by Hamas militants on October 7 three years ago, mourning victims of attacks that set off Israel’s assault in Gaza and plunged the Middle East into war.

The attacks of October 7, 2023, were the deadliest day in Israel’s history. Militants led by Hamas killed 1200 people and took 251 hostages, a cross-border incursion that traumatised Israelis who have demanded government accountability.

In Kfar Aza, where Hamas militants killed dozens of Israelis before taking 19 hostages back into Gaza, residents held a vigil for those killed, standing in silence as a trumpet played a solemn bugle call. A resident read out a roll call of the dead.

Zion Regev, a community leader in the kibbutz, said most residents remain displaced and have yet to return, the trauma of October 7 continuing to shape their lives.