Australia and allies condemn Israel over ‘inhumane' Gaza aid deaths
Signed by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her counterparts from the UK, France, and Canada, the joint statement published late Monday accused Israel of an 'unacceptable' denial of humanitarian aid and warned they were prepared to take action to help bring about a ceasefire.
'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,' the statement said.
'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 25 countries are demanding Israel urgently boost the flow of aid and enable the UN 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.
The international community has criticised the replacement of established NGOs with the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. According to the UN Human Rights Council figures published last week, almost 900 people were killed in Gaza while trying to get food; '674 of them were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites.'
Earlier on Monday Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah, an area of Gaza which 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.
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Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘Starvation is knocking on every door': Malnutrition in Gaza described as ‘horror show'
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the hunger and malnutrition in Gaza is a 'horror show'. The Hamas-run health ministry says 15 people have died of malnutrition in the past 24 hours. The UN says more than 1,000 people have died in Gaza since a new Israeli-run and US-backed aid distribution system was introduced in May. The UN also says Gaza has got 3 months' worth of supplies sitting in trucks in neighbouring countries that Israel won't allow in. However, Israel does allow aid distribution by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation into Gaza.
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Fifteen die of starvation in Gaza Strip, medics say
A six-week-old infant is among 15 people who have died of starvation in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, local health officials say, with malnutrition killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war. The family of the Gaza City child, Yousef, could not find baby formula to feed him, his uncle Adham al-Safadi said. "You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $US100 for a tub," he said, looking at his dead nephew. Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in air strikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group that killed 1200 people and captured 251 hostages in October 2023. For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger. The Gaza Strip's food stocks have run down since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups. At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks. Israel, which controls all supplies entering the strip, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food. Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance" and works to facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community. It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other militants. The fighters deny stealing it. More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centres of a new US-backed aid organisation. The UN has rejected this system as inherently unsafe and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a "horror show". "We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council. "That system is being denied the conditions to function." The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving. "Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," its director Jan Egeland told Reuters. "Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he said. The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff as well as doctors and humanitarian workers were fainting on duty in the Gaza Strip due to hunger and exhaustion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were "unbearable" and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation. On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses. "We haven't eaten for five days," said Mohammed Jundia. Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered the enclave over the course of the war. The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed the Gaza Strip's population. "Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry. Deqran said 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women. Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said. Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents. A six-week-old infant is among 15 people who have died of starvation in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, local health officials say, with malnutrition killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war. The family of the Gaza City child, Yousef, could not find baby formula to feed him, his uncle Adham al-Safadi said. "You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $US100 for a tub," he said, looking at his dead nephew. Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in air strikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group that killed 1200 people and captured 251 hostages in October 2023. For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger. The Gaza Strip's food stocks have run down since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups. At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks. Israel, which controls all supplies entering the strip, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food. Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance" and works to facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community. It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other militants. The fighters deny stealing it. More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centres of a new US-backed aid organisation. The UN has rejected this system as inherently unsafe and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a "horror show". "We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council. "That system is being denied the conditions to function." The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving. "Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," its director Jan Egeland told Reuters. "Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he said. The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff as well as doctors and humanitarian workers were fainting on duty in the Gaza Strip due to hunger and exhaustion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were "unbearable" and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation. On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses. "We haven't eaten for five days," said Mohammed Jundia. Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered the enclave over the course of the war. The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed the Gaza Strip's population. "Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry. Deqran said 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women. Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said. Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents. A six-week-old infant is among 15 people who have died of starvation in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, local health officials say, with malnutrition killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war. The family of the Gaza City child, Yousef, could not find baby formula to feed him, his uncle Adham al-Safadi said. "You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $US100 for a tub," he said, looking at his dead nephew. Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in air strikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group that killed 1200 people and captured 251 hostages in October 2023. For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger. The Gaza Strip's food stocks have run down since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups. At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks. Israel, which controls all supplies entering the strip, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food. Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance" and works to facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community. It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other militants. The fighters deny stealing it. More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centres of a new US-backed aid organisation. The UN has rejected this system as inherently unsafe and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a "horror show". "We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council. "That system is being denied the conditions to function." The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving. "Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," its director Jan Egeland told Reuters. "Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he said. The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff as well as doctors and humanitarian workers were fainting on duty in the Gaza Strip due to hunger and exhaustion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were "unbearable" and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation. On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses. "We haven't eaten for five days," said Mohammed Jundia. Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered the enclave over the course of the war. The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed the Gaza Strip's population. "Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry. Deqran said 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women. Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said. Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents. A six-week-old infant is among 15 people who have died of starvation in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, local health officials say, with malnutrition killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war. The family of the Gaza City child, Yousef, could not find baby formula to feed him, his uncle Adham al-Safadi said. "You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any it's $US100 for a tub," he said, looking at his dead nephew. Three of the other Palestinians who died of hunger over the last day were also children, including 13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in air strikes, shelling and shooting since launching their assault on the Gaza Strip in response to attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group that killed 1200 people and captured 251 hostages in October 2023. For the first time since the war began, Palestinian officials say dozens are now also dying of hunger. The Gaza Strip's food stocks have run down since Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March and then lifted that blockade in May with new measures it says are needed to prevent aid from being diverted to militant groups. At least 101 people are known to have died of hunger during the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, including 80 children, most of them in just the last few weeks. Israel, which controls all supplies entering the strip, denies that it is responsible for shortages of food. Israel's military said that it "views the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as a matter of utmost importance" and works to facilitate its entry in co-ordination with the international community. It has blamed the United Nations for failing to protect aid it says is stolen by Hamas and other militants. The fighters deny stealing it. More than 800 people have been killed in recent weeks trying to reach food, mostly in mass shootings by Israeli soldiers posted near distribution centres of a new US-backed aid organisation. The UN has rejected this system as inherently unsafe and a violation of humanitarian neutrality principles needed to ensure that distribution succeeds. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the situation for the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave a "horror show". "We are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles," Guterres told the UN Security Council. "That system is being denied the conditions to function." The Norwegian Refugee Council, which supported hundreds of thousands of Gazans in the first year of the war, said its aid stocks were now depleted and some of its own staff were starving. "Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left," its director Jan Egeland told Reuters. "Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work," he said. The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday that its staff as well as doctors and humanitarian workers were fainting on duty in the Gaza Strip due to hunger and exhaustion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that images of civilians killed during the distribution of aid were "unbearable" and urged Israel to deliver on pledges to improve the situation. On Tuesday, men and boys lugged sacks of flour past destroyed buildings and tarpaulins in Gaza City, grabbing what food they could from aid warehouses. "We haven't eaten for five days," said Mohammed Jundia. Israeli military statistics showed on Tuesday that an average of 146 trucks of aid per day had entered the enclave over the course of the war. The United States has said a minimum of 600 trucks per day are needed to feed the Gaza Strip's population. "Hospitals are already overwhelmed by the number of casualties from gunfire. They can't provide much more help for hunger-related symptoms because of food and medicine shortages," said Khalil al-Deqran, a spokesperson for the health ministry. Deqran said 600,000 people were suffering from malnutrition, including at least 60,000 pregnant women. Symptoms among those going hungry include dehydration and anaemia, he said. Baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents.
Daily Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
Press Council Adjudication
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News. The Press Council considered whether its Standards of Practice were breached by an article published in print on 4 December 2024 in The Daily Telegraph headed 'To keep peace at home, Labor backs Hamas'. The article reported that Penny Wong, the Minister for Foreign Affairs 'is set to strengthen Australia's support for a two-state-solution in the Middle East by backing a United Nations vote calling for an 'irreversible pathway' to the measure after abstaining in recent years, in a move the Coalition claims will further open a rift with Israel'. The article attributed comments that the 'Albanese government voting for the measure in the UN after abstaining previously was a play for domestic votes', to the former ambassador to Israel Senator Dave Sharma. The article went on to quote Senator Sharma as saying: 'These potential changes in Australia's UN voting pattern are against our national interests. They will do nothing to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East' and 'All they do is reward Hamas for its terrorist acts. And they further damage Australia's relations with an important partner in the Middle East, Israel. Labor is seeking to placate domestic constituencies, rather than putting Australia's national interests first.' In response to a complaint received, the Council asked the publication to comment on whether the article complied with the Council's Standards of Practice, which require publications to take reasonable steps to ensure that factual material is accurate and not misleading (General Principle 1); to ensure that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance and to ensure that writers' expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts (General Principle 3). The Council noted that the complaint raised concerns that the headline does not support the tenor of the article and that it is editorial opinion to state that 'Labor backs Hamas'. In response, the publication said that in the article, Senator Sharma criticised the Albanese government for backing a UN resolution that he claims rewards the terrorist organisation Hamas for its acts of terrorism. The publication said that in this context, the headline reflects the opinion of Senator Sharma and readers would view the headline as accurately reflecting the senator's view. The publication also said that readers can discern the difference between an opposition senators criticism of government decision-making, as opposed to the editorial direction of the publisher. Conclusion The Council recognises the limitations of headlines to reasonably reflect the tenor of an article. The Council also recognises that what constitutes reasonable steps to ensure factual material is accurate and not misleading may vary in the circumstances. In relation to this, the Council considers that publications need to take great care in order to satisfy the reasonable steps standard in the context of heightened community sensitivities around the Israel/Palestine conflict and on matters of significant public interest. In the absence of inverted commas to signify a paraphrase or a quote, the Council considers the headline is presented as statement of fact with the clear implication being that the Labor government is 'backing' Hamas. The Council considers that the headline goes beyond what was said by Senator Sharma in his criticisms of the government support for a two-state-solution in the Middle East. Accordingly, the Council concludes the publication failed to take reasonable steps to ensure factual material is accurate and not misleading in breach of General Principle 1. In noting the complaint is limited to the headline, the Council finds no breach of General Principle 3. For the full Adjudication, see:
