Penny Wong: Israel condemnation channels Australians’ ‘distress’ over Gaza

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has sought to downplay a rift with the Trump administration after Australia joined a coalition of 28 nations calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and condemning Israel over the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians seeking aid.

Australia’s strongest criticism yet of Israel’s conduct in the war drew a sharp rebuke from the United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who labelled the joint statement “disgusting” and said it was “irrational” to blame Israel for the failure to secure a ceasefire.

Palestinians gather to collect humanitarian aid from a distribution point in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza.Credit: Bloomberg

As pro-Palestinian protesters were evicted from Parliament House in Canberra on the opening of the new term of parliament, Wong said the government was seeking to channel “the real distress that Australians feel about what they’re seeing in Gaza”.

“We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now,” the countries wrote in the United Kingdom-led statement.

“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. 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 need of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.”

The 28 countries – which include Canada, Japan, New Zealand, France and Italy – are demanding Israel urgently boost the flow of aid and enable the United Nations and charities “to do their life-saving work safely and effectively” after 85 Palestinians were killed trying to access food in various locations, according to the territory’s health ministry.

After the breakdown of the initial January ceasefire, Israel imposed a humanitarian blockade on the strip in March before overhauling the delivery of aid.

Relatives of Palestinians killed near an aid distribution centre mourn over their bodies in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday.Credit: AP

Asked about Huckabee’s criticism of the statement, Wong told Sky News: “President Trump has been a very strong advocate for a ceasefire and hostage deal, and so are we.”

She noted that several other US allies had signed the statement.

A group of about 15 pro-Palestine protesters were detained inside Parliament House on Tuesday afternoon following a larger protest where hundreds gathered on the lawns of Federation Mall outside the building.

Police collected details from the protesters, who were shouting chants as Governor-General Sam Mostyn addressed the Senate, before removing them from the building.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke described Israel’s behaviour in Gaza as “indefensible” and called for “the slaughter to end” in a stark escalation of the government’s language on the conflict.

“We’re all hoping that there’ll be something that’ll break this. We’ve seen too many images of children being killed, of horrific slaughter, of churches being bombed. The images that we’ve seen have been pretty clear that so much of this is indefensible,” Burke said on ABC News Breakfast on Tuesday.

“None of this changes the fact that the hostages need to be released.”

Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, attacked the joint statement, arguing it is “disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas”.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the return of hostages still held by Hamas was a priority. “There are still hostages hidden in tunnels, and a way to end the situation is for those hostages to be released by the terrorists, Hamas, who control so much of the activity there,” Ley said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash called the statement “disappointing”, and said the “Albanese government’s decision to blame Israel for Hamas’s disruption of the flow of aid is appalling”.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong issued a fresh ceasefire demand alongside counterparts from 24 other countries.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Greens leader Larissa Waters called for the government to sanction the Netanyahu government. “The Israel regime isn’t listening to stern words,” she said.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said ending the war unilaterally would fail to achieve the return of the remaining Israeli hostages or the surrender of Hamas.

“The Australian government, and international community, must come together to put maximum pressure on Hamas to surrender, and to ensure aid deliveries are not misused to embolden Hamas’ grip on Gaza,” he said.

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni called for extensive sanctions on Israel and an end to any military co-operation.

“The time for these statements has long passed,” he said. “People are starving to death because Israel refuses to allow aid into the hellscape it has created in Gaza. Families are being bombed and gunned down while trying to access water.”

The international community has criticised the replacement of established NGOs with the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. According to UN Human Rights Council figures published last week, almost 900 people were killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 near aid delivery sites.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah, an area of Gaza that had been largely untouched by the conflict and where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians had sought refuge. The incursion has led to speculation that Hamas is holding large numbers of hostages there.

The statement from the 28 nations also called out soaring settler violence against Palestinians on the West Bank, and hit out against the Israeli proposal to build a “humanitarian city” in Gaza, which former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert recently condemned as a “concentration camp”.

“Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law,” the joint statement said.

In a fiery response posted on X, Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the joint statement, saying it “fails to focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognise Hamas’ role and responsibility for the situation”.

The joint international statement reaffirmed the nations’ support for those involved in brokering a ceasefire deal, including the US and Qatar.

“We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region,” it said.

Last month, Australia was among a group of nations, including Britain and Canada, to sanction two hardline Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

With Reuters, AP

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.