Wong calls on Israel to cease attacks on hospitals

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has called on Israel to halt attacks on hospitals in Gaza to avoid casualties among Palestinian civilians, stepping up Australian concerns over a widening conflict in the Middle East.

Wong condemned Hamas for its terrorist attack on Israeli civilians on October 7 and its use of civilian facilities to shield its fighters, but said Israel should abide by humanitarian law that forbids attacks on medical centres.

Penny Wong said Israel needed to listen to its friends, including Australia.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The government also warned against violence at Australian demonstrations in support of either side in the conflict, with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles saying people had a right to speak up about government policy but should not aim their protests at other members of the community.

The comments came as protesters took to Australian streets on Sunday to call for government action on the conflict, with pro-Palestinian groups highlighting the civilian deaths in Gaza and Jewish groups showing support for hundreds of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.

The Greens reacted to Wong’s remarks by saying she should have called much earlier for the protection of hospitals from Israeli attacks, but the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Zionist Federation of Australia criticised her comments and said the government should hold Hamas unequivocally responsible for the conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Saturday for a ceasefire, while G7 foreign ministers issued a statement on Thursday that called for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict, representing a joint position of the United States, Britain, Canada, Japan, France, Italy and Germany.

Wong, speaking on Sunday morning, singled out Hamas as a terrorist group and highlighted its use of Israeli hostages, given estimates that it holds about 240 Israeli civilians inside Gaza in breach of international law.

“We need steps towards a ceasefire. It cannot be one-sided. We know that Hamas is still holding hostages, and we know that a ceasefire must be agreed between the parties,” Wong told the ABC’s Insiders program.

“But we can also say that Israel should do everything it can to observe international humanitarian law.

“I would make this point in relation to hospitals and medical facilities: that international humanitarian law does require the protection of hospitals, of patients and of medical staff.

“And we do call on Israel to cease the attacking of hospitals. We understand the argument that Hamas is burrowed into civilian infrastructure. But, you know, I think the international community, looking at what is occurring in hospitals, would say to Israel: these are facilities protected under international law and we want you to do so.”

Wong said there was no doubt Hamas was shielding its fighters behind civilian infrastructure. But she added this did not obviate Israel’s responsibility under international law.

“We know Hamas is a terrorist organisation. It has demonstrated that it has no respect for international law,” she said.

“But Australia is a democracy and so too is Israel, and the standards that we seek and accept are higher, and international humanitarian law is very clear about the principles that need to be applied by Israel.

“They are distinction, they are precaution and they are proportionality.”

In a joint statement, the Executive Council for Australian Jewry and the Zionist Federation of Australia said the Geneva Convention stated that hospitals lost their protection if they were used for military purposes.

“It is incontrovertible that Hamas uses Shifa and other hospitals for military purposes. There is no evidence that Israel is not observing the laws of armed conflict,” the two groups said.

“The government of Australia should not be lending any credibility to this false and harmful narrative.”

NSW Greens senator David Shoebridge criticised Wong for not speaking sooner about the attacks.

“How did it take a month of killing for Australia’s foreign minister to say don’t bomb hospitals?” he said.

“And then to pretend it’s taking some kind of ethical stand? What is wrong with Labor?”

Coalition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie backed Israel’s right to defend itself in an interview that aired before Wong’s remarks on the ABC.

“Hamas must be destroyed completely. There won’t be peace until Hamas is removed from the battlefield as a military force and as a political force – that’s just the reality,” Hastie said. “I think Israel has shown great restraint.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in Caulfield last week after a local burger shop that was destroyed by fire became a focal point of community tensions over the Gaza conflict.Credit: Simon Schluter

Marles said he was worried about the way the protests were going after police were called to a demonstration by pro-Palestinian groups in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield on Friday night, where concerns about violence led authorities to evacuate a nearby synagogue.

“If we look at the events of Friday night specifically, Jewish Australians have a right to feel safe and be safe in their own country,” Marles said.

“This demonstration on behalf of Palestine in the heart of the Jewish community was unacceptable and it’s welcome that the Free Palestine movement have acknowledged that it was a mistake.

“Clearly, antisemitism doesn’t have a place in our country and it’s very important that we are able, no matter what is happening elsewhere in the world, to maintain social cohesion here in Australia.

“I mean, clearly people have a right to protest what’s happening in the Middle East. What’s happening in the Middle East is an unfolding tragedy. And people have a right to put pressure on their country’s government, on us, but there shouldn’t be demonstrations which are aimed at other members of the community.”

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