In this bulletin;
- The Palestine Red Crescent says an Israeli investigation into the killing of 15 Gaza medics is "full of lies"
- Documents show Melbourne's COVID curfew was not based on medical advice
- In athletics, Gout Gout prepares for the Stawell Gift
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The Palestine Red Crescent has rejected the findings of an Israeli military investigation that blamed operational failures for the killing of 15 Gaza emergency service workers.
It denounced the report as being "full of lies".
Fourteen emergency workers and a UN worker were killed on 23 March, after a convoy of Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulances, a UN car and a fire truck came under fire by the Israeli military.
The United Nation's humanitarian agency (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) called the site where the bodies were found — Rafah's Tal al-Sultan area — a mass grave.
An inquiry into the incident by Israel's military found a series of failings.
It says the deputy commander of the unit involved has been dismissed "for providing an incomplete and inaccurate report during the debrief".
Without providing evidence, the investigation concluded six of the casualties were Hamas members.
The report also rejected that there had been summary executions.
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Gaza's civil defence agency says Israel killed at least 25 people across the strip on Easter Sunday, while also restricting the access of Palestinian Christians to holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem.
That pushes the death toll past 1,800 in the last month and comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to continue the war without yeilding to Hamas' demands.
Palestinian Christian Khader Al-Nasrawi says the conflict has made it difficult to mark religious traditions.
"We have endured extremely difficult conditions, just like every other resident of Gaza City. We were displaced from our homes, which were destroyed, and we were forced to take refuge in St. Porphyrius Church and the Holy Family Church. We lived as displaced people in halls and rooms. St. Porphyrius Church was bombed, resulting in the martyrdom of more than 20 people. The Holy Family Church was under siege for more than 10 days, and there were threats to storm the church, but we refused to leave."
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The Victorian opposition says it has obtained documents under freedom of information laws that show Melbourne's first COVID lockdowns were a political call and not based on health advice.
An email exchange between some of the state's most senior health officials* shows they did not propose the lockdown measures, although they did support them.
Opposition spokesman David Davis called on premier Jacinta Allan to explain the decision.
"In this case, it was not a health-based scientific decision. It was a whim of one man."
The Victorian government has released a statement saying they did what was necessary to protect Victorians.
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Leaders are desperately trying to win over Australian voters with political offerings a day before early voting opens, with millions of people set to cast their ballots early.
The Australian Electoral Commission is preparing to deliver what it calls Australia's largest peacetime logistical event with more than 18 million people registered to vote and 60 million ballot papers being printed.
The Easter long weekend traditionally represents a pause in the election campaign, but there still have been announcements.
Over the long weekend, Labor promised to legislate penalty rate protections — a move branded a stunt by the Coalition.
Later today, the Coalition is set to outline law and orders initiatives in a $750 million package it is calling "Operation Safer Communities".
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To sport now, star sprinters Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy will both face challenging runs in the semifinals, if they're to keep their Stawell Gift dreams alive.
The semis and finals will be contested today in Victoria, with the winner of the 120-metre event taking home a prize of $40,000.
Lachlan Kennedy has been drawn in the first semi, where his biggest challenges are likely 17-year-old Dash Muir and Jacob Despard.
Superstar Gout Gout will race in the sixth and last semifinal, where his biggest challenge is set to be John Evans, who clocked the fastest heat time of 12.13 seconds.
The semifinals kick off from noon AEST, with the women's final at 1.45pm and the men's final at 2.20pm.
