Australia has joined other 27 countries in condemning Israel for the slow rollout of aid and the “inhumane killing” of civilians, while calling for an immediate end of the war in Gaza.
This comes as pro-Palestine protesters rally in Canberra on July 22, the first sitting day of parliament since the May 3 federal election.
“The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food,” reads a joint statement signed by Australia’s Labor Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
“We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the U.N. and humanitarian NGOs to do their life saving work safely and effectively.”
Malnutrition in Gaza no impacts 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment, according to the U.N. World Food Programme, with nearly 1 in 3 people not eating for days.
“Gaza’s hunger crisis has reached new levels of desperation. People are dying from lack of humanitarian assistance,” the organisation posted on X.
On the other hand, the statement also condemns the continued detention of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas since October 2023.
“We condemn their continued detention and call for their immediate and unconditional release,” it reads. “A negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing them home and ending the agony of their families.”
“We call on all parties to protect civilians and uphold the obligations of international humanitarian law.
Violence in the Gaza Strip escalated after Hamas—a designated terrorist organisation—launched an attack on Israel in October 2023, killing over 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
In response, the Israeli government imposed a blockade and carried out a military offensive that, according to Gaza health authorities, killed over 58,000 Palestinians and displaced more than 737,000 between March and July.
Other signatories of the statement include EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib, and the foreign ministers of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK — with the notable exception of the United States.
Israel Rejects Joint Statement
Israel has rejected the joint statement, calling it “disconnected from reality” and “sends the wrong message to Hamas.”
“All statements and all claims should be directed at the only party responsible for the lack of a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire: Hamas, which started this war and is prolonging it,” Oran Marmorstein, a spokesman for Israel’s foreign affairs ministry posted on X.
“Instead of agreeing to a ceasefire, Hamas is busy running a campaign to spread lies about Israel. At the same time, Hamas is deliberately acting to increase friction and harm to civilians who come to receive humanitarian aid.”
