Anthony Albanese and Joe Biden face world of conflict ahead of talks
In a speech alongside Joe Biden on the South Lawn of the White House, Anthony Albanese focused on the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.
Australia and the US are preparing for a region-wide conflict in the Middle East, as Labor toughens its rhetoric against Israeli strikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Anthony Albanese warns in Washington that “every innocent life matters”.
Jewish leaders urged Australia to remain “on the side of Israel” after Foreign Minister Penny Wong called for a “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s bombing to address the growing crisis in Gaza.
Senator Wong warned “the way Israel exercises the right to defend itself matters. It matters to civilians in the region and it matters to Israel’s ongoing security.”
In a speech alongside President Joe Biden on the South Lawn of the White House, the Prime Minister said all Australians “condemn the atrocities, terror and pitiless brutality of Hamas” after it killed 1400 Jews and kidnapped up to 200 people in the October 7 terror attack.
But Mr Albanese also focused on the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, saying “every innocent life matters, Israeli and Palestinian” and “in any conflict, every effort must be made to protect civilians”.
“Mr President – we applaud the personal resolve you have brought to this troubled part of the world. You have spoken with moral clarity – and you have stood up for a simple principle,” Mr Albanese said in Washington. “The principle that every innocent life matters, Israeli and Palestinian. And that in any conflict, every effort must be made to protect civilians … Because protecting innocent people is not a show of weakness – it is a measure of strength.”
The government will send two more RAAF planes along with “a significant” number of military personnel to “support Australian populations in the Middle East” in a sign that it believes the conflict now poses a region-wide threat to Australians.
It comes as the United States is sending more military to the region and making contingency plans to prepare for the possible evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Americans from the Middle East.
The Pentagon revealed that Iran-backed militia have injured at least 24 US troops amid a wave of attacks on their bases in Iraq and Syria over the past week, fuelling fears that the conflict could soon spread beyond Gaza.
Israel Defence Forces said they had taken out mortar launchers and other military infrastructure in Syria, after rockets were fired from the Iranian ally’s territory against the Jewish homeland this week.
The Hamas-run health agency said 700 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours in Gaza and tensions in the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank have also flared up, as the IDF said it fired on four terrorist suspects in the disputed Palestinian territory.
The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group, Hassan Nassrallah, also met with senior figures in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Wednesday (AEDT) to discuss co-ordinating their offensives on Israel.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said Australia must remain firmly “on the side of Israel in the difficult days ahead”. “Israel didn’t want this war,” he said. “It doesn’t want to be sending its best and brightest to fight terrorists in tunnels. But there can be no peace with a savage, sadistic band of terrorists. That is absolutely clear.”
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said the organisation shared Labor’s humanitarian concerns for Gazan and Israeli civilians, and blamed Hamas as the reason for their suffering.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham says the government’s support for the disablement of Hamas “must not waiver” and humanitarian pauses may be considered “so long as they do not help terrorists”.
Leading security expert Michael Shoebridge has accused Senator Wong of softening her rhetoric on Hamas. Mr Shoebridge, who is the director of Strategic Analysis Australia, said the shift in language seemed to “forget the very recent mass atrocities that Hamas committed”. He said the statement made Hamas seem more like a political party than a terrorist organisation.
However, Senator Wong’s call for a “humanitarian pause” is in line with US policy, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken telling the UN that such a move “must be considered”. “There is no hierarchy when it comes to protecting a civilian’s life,” he said. “Civilians are civilians.”
But the US said it did not support calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, and that such a move would benefit Hamas. Israel has stepped up its bombing of Gaza, saying it hit 700 targets over the past two days ahead of an expected ground invasion of Gaza to eliminate Hamas.
Mr Maimon, Israel’s top diplomat in Australia, said Hamas was to blame for deaths of civilians in Gaza as he reaffirmed the Jewish homeland‘s right to defend itself.
In an address to the National Press Club, Mr Maimon said Israel’s actions in Gaza were in full compliance with international law. Amid rising international condemnation against Israel, he argued the global community had been unfairly concerned about Palestinians, with foreign actors forgetting about Hamas murdering more than 1400 Israelis.
Israel has called for the resignation of UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres after he accused Israel of “collective punishment” of the people in Gaza. He also said it was important to recognise that the attacks by Hamas – while unforgivable – “did not happen in a vacuum” and that Palestinians had been subjected to half a century of “suffocating occupation”.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said: “It’s truly sad that the head of an organisation that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views.”
Fears that the Israel-Gaza conflict might spread have been fuelled by repeated shelling of Israeli positions by Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in Southern Lebanon, and by growing violence and unrest in the occupied West Bank.
But the Pentagon has also derailed a series of attacks on US forces stationed in the region by Iranian-backed militia.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said there had been 13 attacks over the past week – 10 in Iraq and three in Syria. General Ryder said “we know” the militias responsible for the attacks are supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
“What we are seeing is the prospect for more significant escalation against US forces and personnel across the region in the very near-term coming from Iranian proxy forces and ultimately from Iran,” he said.
The US has persuaded Israel to delay its anticipated ground offensive into Gaza to allow it to move more military assets into the region in case the conflict spreads.
It also says a delay in the assault will buy time for the possible release of more hostages and will allow for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. Four hostages have so far been released by Hamas with negotiations under way for a further 50 to be released. Hamas is still holding about 220 hostages.
More aid convoys have entered Gaza but aid workers say it is only a trickle of what is required to help alleviate a dire situation in the territory which has not received water, food, fuel or medicine since October 7.
More Coverage
Might as well close it: Chalmers’ big call leaves fund without a future
It’s Jim Chalmers’ big chance to put his loopy ideas about ‘reinventing capitalism’ to become a ‘values-driven’ system into practice. Labor has never really liked the Future Fund because it’s a reminder of Peter Costello’s success.
Chalmers’ $230bn Future Funnel for favoured projects
Jim Chalmers is overhauling the investment mandate of the Future Fund to drive capital into Labor’s agenda, in a major shift in the role of the sovereign wealth fund established by the Howard government.