Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has strongly rejected Israel’s claims that there’s no starvation in Gaza as “beyond comprehension”.
He was responding to statements made by his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel’s deputy ambassador to Australia, during a Labor caucus meeting on Tuesday.
“While there is a caveat on any health information which is provided by Hamas, it is Israel that has prevented journalists from getting in,” he told the meeting in Canberra.
It comes after Albanese on Friday declared Israel’s retaliation in Gaza following the October 7 attack on the nation state by Hamas had “gone beyond the world’s worst fears”.
Then on Sunday, he warned Israel had “quite clearly” breached international law by limiting food deliveries to starving civilians in Gaza, escalating his criticism of the Jewish state.
Albanese spoke of his emotional response to images of gaunt and dying children in the Palestinian territory, while acknowledging increased airdrops of aid by Israel was “a start”.
“It just breaks your heart,” he told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday.
Overnight on Monday, US President Donald Trump contradicted Netanyahu by stating many people were starving in the Gaza Strip and saying more could be done to improve humanitarian access.
Netanyahu has said “there is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza”.
On Monday, Israel’s deputy ambassador to Australia Amir Meron said “we don’t recognise any famine or any starvation in the Gaza Strip”.
The number of Palestinians believed to have been killed is nearing 60,000, according to local health authorities.
While there have been air drops of aid into Gaza, humanitarian agencies say they aren’t enough to deal with worsening levels of starvation.
On Tuesday, Albanese was also asked about Palestinian statehood.
He referenced a Nelson Mandela quote, saying “it always seems impossible until it’s done”.
He has previously said any resolution on the issue would need to guarantee that Hamas, the de facto ruling authority in Gaza, which Australia has designated a terrorist group, had no part in the future nation.
Agreements would also be needed on rebuilding Gaza and the West Bank, and a resolution of issues over expansion of Israeli settlements.
Later, during Question Time, he said he wanted to see and “and to killing, whether it is of Israelis or Palestinians”.
“And I want to see the creation of a two-state solution where both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and prosperity and security, and will continue to work with other leaders around the world of like-minded countries with the objective of that,” he said.
Recognition of Palestinian statehood has been part of Labor’s national platform since 2018.
Labor faces intensifying pressure to follow France in recognising a Palestinian state at a United Nations General Assembly meeting in September.
The Greens are calling on the government to impose the same sanctions on Israel as it had done so for Russia.
They are also seeking a ban on buying items that can help fund the war, pointing to sanctions on pearls and truffles for Russia.
On Monday, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said she was “incredibly distressed” by images from Gaza.
But she did not directly respond to questions about whether she believed people were starving in the territory or if Israel’s policies had contributed to the deteriorating humanitarian situation for the region’s 2.2 million residents.
“We all want to see aid flow into Gaza and we all want the war to end and we all want the suffering to cease,” Ley said.
“It’s very complex on the ground. It’s not something that we can make judgments about every move that is made.
“If we want the war to end, and we all do, we know the simplest, quickest way is for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages.”
Liberal senator James Paterson said he didn’t believe Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war – which is illegal under international law – but it was important that civilians got aid and food.
“They have an obligation to ensure that people are fed,” he told Sky News when asked if Israel bore any responsibility for the situation in Gaza.
-with AAP
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