Australia rebukes Israel in joint statement demanding aid for starving Gazans

Australia has joined a coalition of 24 countries demanding the full resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza and accusing Israel of politicising the delivery of essential food and medicine to Palestinian civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that Israel would allow some aid to enter Gaza after a two-month blockade, but international aid organisations say this will not be nearly enough to meet the needs of the local population and will risk the lives of aid workers.

Displaced Palestinians collect cooked food from a community food kitchen in Jabaliya, northern Gaza.Credit: Bloomberg

Netanyahu has said that Israel will take full control of the strip as he ordered the Israeli military to intensify ground operations in the ravaged strip, including by instructing civilians to leave the southern city of Khan Yunis.

Penny Wong and the foreign ministers from 23 other nations said in a joint statement they could not support the limited aid delivery the Israeli government had proposed.

“It places beneficiaries and aid workers at risk, undermines the role and independence of the UN and our trusted partners, and links humanitarian aid to political and military objectives,” the foreign ministers said.

“Humanitarian aid should never be politicised, and Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change.”

However, Australia has not gone as far as Canada, France and the United Kingdom, which threatened “concrete actions” against Israel, including sanctions, in a separate statement unless it halts the renewed military offensive in Gaza and lifts aid restrictions. Shortly after the first few aid trucks entered Gaza, the three labelled the aid “wholly inadequate” and called on Israel to stop its “egregious” expansion of operations in the strip.

Alongside Wong, the foreign ministers who signed the 24-nation joint statement are representatives from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

“As humanitarian donors, we have two straightforward messages for the government of Israel: allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza immediately and enable the UN and humanitarian organisations to work independently and impartially to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity,” the foreign ministers said.

“We remain committed to meeting the acute needs we see in Gaza.”

The foreign ministers continued: “Food, medicines and essential supplies are exhausted. The population faces starvation. Gaza’s people must receive the aid they desperately need.”

They also issued a “firm message that Hamas must immediately release all remaining hostages and allow humanitarian assistance to be distributed without interference”.

Save the Children chief executive Mat Tinkler urged Wong to go further and join France, the UK and Canada by threatening sanctions against Israel.

“We are well beyond the point of words – Australia must now be prepared to match its strong rhetoric with decisive action,” he said.

The United Nations’ humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said the resumption of limited aid delivery was a “welcome development” but described it as “a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed”.

Netanyahu said Israel had devised a new model of aid delivery that would provide “just enough to prevent hunger”.

Addressing Israelis who oppose the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, he said a “red line” was approaching in the form of famine and that even strong supporters of Israel, including US senators, had expressed concerns about the humanitarian situation.

Netanyahu said in a video message: “They come to me and say this, ‘We’re giving you all the support to achieve victory. But there’s one thing we cannot accept. We cannot handle images of starvation’.”

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