A nurse in Australia has been charged with making death threats and other offences after a video emerged showing hospital staff allegedly boasting about harming and denying treatment to Israeli patients. The New South Wales Police announced on Wednesday that a 26-year-old woman, identified by local media as Sarah Abu Lebdeh, faces three charges, including threatening violence against a group and using a carriage service to threaten to kill.
According to NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb, the woman is under “very, very strict” bail conditions that prevent her from leaving Australia or using social media. She is scheduled to appear in a Sydney court on March 19.
The charges follow widespread outrage after a video circulated online showing two staff members from a Sydney hospital making inflammatory comments. In the video, shared by Israeli content creator Max Veifer, Abu Lebdeh allegedly said she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and would “kill them.” Another hospital worker, identified as Ahmad Rashad Nadir, reportedly claimed to have sent Israeli patients to “Jahannam,” the Arabic term for hell. While Nadir has not been charged, health authorities have banned both individuals from working in healthcare in any capacity.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident, describing the comments as “disgusting, sickening, and shameful.” Health officials stated that an internal investigation found no evidence that any patients were harmed as a result of the staff members’ actions.
This incident comes amid a rise in both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents in Australia following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. In recent months, the country has faced increased reports of hate crimes, including arson attacks on synagogues and an alleged bomb plot.
