The Albanese government wants the Gaza war to end now. So do most Israelis
Australia and 27 other countries this week signed a joint statement arguing that 'the war in Gaza must end now' and condemning the Netanyahu government's aid delivery model. Israel's foreign ministry and ambassador to Australia criticised the statement, as did the Coalition and local pro-Israel groups.
'All statements and all claims should be directed at the only party responsible for the lack of a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire: Hamas, which started this war and is prolonging it,' the Israeli foreign ministry said.
In Israel itself, however, the idea that the war has gone on for far too long is utterly mainstream. As is the idea that the Netanyahu government bears at least partial responsibility for the failure to bring it to an end.
A poll last week released this month by Israel's highest-rating television network, Channel 12, found that three quarters of Israelis want the war to end in exchange for a deal that would release all the remaining hostages at once. This included 60 per cent of people who voted for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative coalition. A majority of Israeli voters said that Netanyahu's handling of the war has been bad, and 49 per cent believe he is resisting a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal for political reasons.
These findings reflect repeated polls over many months showing most Israelis are fed up with the war in Gaza. Similarly, during a reporting trip to Israel last month, photographer Kate Geraghty and I found a pervasive fatigue with the war and an overwhelming desire to secure a hostage release deal. 'Finish it, it's enough,' car salesman and passionate Netanyahu supporter Ronen Sha'a Shua told us, reflecting a common sentiment. 'We can't move on until our hostages come back.'
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Asked about the joint statement signed by Australia, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the 'most important' thing was rescuing the 50 hostages that remain in Gaza, of whom around 20 are believed to be alive.
Most Israelis agree. Crucially, though, they believe that the war is hindering rather than helping secure the release of the hostages. The most passionate Israeli advocates for ending the war are the family members of the remaining hostages in Gaza. Many of these relatives are also fierce critics of Netanyahu, whom they believe has made the release of their loved ones a low priority and has continued the war to placate the far-right members of his governing coalition. Convinced that lobbying the Netanyahu government is an almost futile effort, many have turned to pleading with US President Donald Trump to secure the release of the hostages.
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ABC News
38 minutes ago
- ABC News
The Shakeup: Albo's Gaza statement, Parliament back + tinned lizard
Albanese has called Gaza's humanitarian crisis "beyond the world's worst fears", but is a statement on Instagram enough as Palestinians in Gaza starve? And colleagues yelling at each other, MPs snubbing a Welcome to Country, Bob Katter nodding off — we unpack the big moments as parliament resumes for the first time since the election. Plus, while tinned fish is having a moment online, a tinned lizard caused a different stir. Host Dave Marchese is joined by Laura Masia and AAP reporter Dominic Giannini. Get the whole story from Hack:
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Please. End the suffering and feed Gaza's poor, starving children
Forty-five children died of starvation or malnutrition in Gaza on Thursday. Reports vary between 100 and 300 in the past six weeks, including a six-week-old baby. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by IDF gunfire meant to 'disperse crowds' at aid distribution sites, all located in militarised zones. Freelance journalists in Gaza are reporting widespread hunger. The World Health Organisation says 25 per cent of Gaza's population is facing 'famine-like conditions', and director Tedros Adhanom Gadbreyesus has said it's a 'mass starvation, and it's man-made'. Let's call a spade a spade: Israel is starving Palestinians to death. Marilyn Lebeter, Smiths Creek After the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong announced that Israel had a right to defend itself but that the response should be measured and proportional. There was the expected pile-on against her by the usual suspects. If only her sentiments had been followed. Article 33 of Geneva Convention IV identifies the collective punishment of a people as a war crime. We learn today that one in five children in Gaza are suffering from malnutrition. People are dying of starvation daily, while tons of aid remains blocked at the borders. In the years to come, this will be recognised as the crime against humanity that it is. It needs to be stopped today. Jack Amond, Cabarita With the fox in charge of the henhouse, the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) will deny seeing any starvation on its watch. Which is strange really, given the IDF performs military strikes with almost pinpoint accuracy. The death toll of civilians in those misnamed 'humanitarian aid' lines has risen to more than 1000. How has the GHF allowed this to happen? It's a despicable state of affairs and needs universal condemnation, and action. Helen Lewin, Tumbi Umbi They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so how poignant that the Herald front page carries the photo of one-year-old Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, who is facing life-threatening malnutrition (' Suffer the children ', July 25). When will the world take more decisive action to bring an end to this catastrophic war in Gaza and allow aid to flow? When will all the folk who talk about antisemitism raise their voices to rein in Netanyahu's tyrannical quest for power and domination of the Palestinians? I hope Muhammad's picture will be seared into people's consciousness, just like the 'Napalm Girl' picture taken during the Vietnam War. Rhonda Seymour, Castle Hill I'm totally distraught from the shocking images of starvation emerging from Gaza. I don't care what the rest of the world is doing – I want the Australian government to be courageous and place immediate sanctions on the Israeli government now. It is not a Zionist thing or a Jewish thing or an Israeli thing. It's a humanitarian thing. Matt Bower, Green Point The heartbreaking front page picture of an emaciated child and mother reduced me to tears of utter despair. How can this be allowed to happen? So much rhetoric from world leaders to absolutely no avail, as the appalling carnage continues. Elizabeth Kroon, Randwick Your front-page photo is today's real-life version of Michelangelo's The Pieta. Shame on those countries enabling Netanyahu's behaviour. Shame on the rest of us for standing idly by and watching the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, illustrated starkly by the photo. Meg Pickup, Ballina A picture, or a cartoon, tells a thousand words. The front-page photo of a mother cradling her starving child, together with the Wilcox cartoon highlighting the fate of Gazans at the hands of Israel, make clear the horrors now experienced by the Palestinian people. The denial of humanitarian aid and the killing of those seeking it is obscene, immoral and a crime against humanity. Michael Healy, Raworth I looked at the Herald's front-page photo today and wept yet again. How much longer before the world stops talking and does something about removing Benjamin Netanyahu? How is it that this man is allowed to continue, day by day, wreaking death and starvation on the defenceless? Enough talking. Margaret Ryan, Bexley The children of Gaza are being starved to death. They are paying the ultimate price for the 1200 people killed by Hamas in October 2023. There is a moral obligation for Australia to join South Africa in filing the case of genocide against Israel in the International Court of Justice. Mark Porter, New Lambton To accompany your front-page headline 'Suffer the children', a reference to the so-called mass starvation in Gaza, you feature a photo of an emaciated child and a very healthy, well-fed woman, purportedly the child's mother. 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The truth is that Morrison got us into that mess and it has taken Anthony Albanese's skilled diplomacy to restore relations with our biggest trading partner. Morrison should have the decency to acknowledge that. Andrew Macintosh, Cromer Voting changes Perhaps a fair voting solution for the troubling ages of 16-17 and 85-plus is to allow both to only opt in if they wish to vote. The elderly could be spared a chore they are no longer inspired by, or capable of, and only the politically committed youth will bother. Allan Kreuiter, Roseville Seditious content Sally Spurr is a well-travelled, regular Herald correspondent. I am perplexed as to why, having successfully negotiated US immigration, she would be nervous about going through customs (Letters, July 25). What was she carrying? The Herald? Ross Drynan, Lindfield
AU Financial Review
an hour ago
- AU Financial Review
PM says starving children in Gaza ‘beyond world's worst fears'
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has not ruled out recognising Palestinian statehood at the United Nations' gathering in September after French President Emmanuel Macron declared he would become the first leader of a major western country to do so in a bid to revive the Middle East peace process. Macron's surprise unilateral announcement spurred Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to issue his strongest denunciation of Israel's war against terror group Hamas, saying 'Gaza has gone beyond the world's worst fears'.
