Australia condemns Israel's 'indefensible' actions in Gaza as calls for sanctions grow louder

Australia Broadcast Center

4 days ago

Public outrage around the globe as the Palestinian death toll has climbed into the tens of thousands in Gaza since 2023 has been followed only slowly by official statements from governments reluctant to criticise Israel.
This reluctance was initially grounded in the shock of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians, and the need to recognise wrongdoing on both sides.
But as the relentless destruction of so much of Gaza, and the loss of so much human life continued — even amid protests and objections in Israel — the "measured" responses of Western governments, including Australia's, looked increasingly out of step with both what was seen occurring every day, and with the growing public disquiet.
Israel's long-held position as a Western ally in a volatile and often hostile region seemed to make it seen first and foremost in these terms, rather than as one increasingly acting as a rogue state.
This has been despite the push to prosecute a case of genocide against Israel in the International Court of Justice and to pursue individual cabinet ministers in the International Criminal Court.
The crucial position of the United States as the only country with a capacity to impose real pressure on Israel — both through cutting aid and withholding military hardware — has long allowed other nations to feel they could hide behind the US's lack of action.
But the new development in this terrible conflict — in which Israel has closed down the usual paths for humanitarian aid and replaced them with a US/Israeli-backed aid organisation of questionable merit — poses a more immediate and tangible point of pressure.
The shocking daily tally of men, women and children killed while standing in line awaiting food and water — currently estimated at just under 1,000 people — has now seen a joint statement issued from 28 countries (including Australia, the UK, Canada and Japan, but not the US and Germany) condemning Israel for the "drip feeding of aid" and "inhumane killing of civilians" in Gaza.
"It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid," the statement said.
"The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law."
The Israeli foreign ministry said the joint statement was "disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas", blaming the Palestinian militant group for the current impasse in ceasefire negotiations.
Washington has also seemed equally dismissive of the interventions by other countries, with the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee describing the joint statement condemning Israel's actions as "disgusting".
But the UK's foreign secretary, David Lammy, said the new aid scheme was "a grotesque spectacle".
"The Israeli government must answer: what possible military justification can there be for strikes that have killed desperate, starving children? What immediate actions are they taking to stop this litany of horrors? And what will they do to hold those responsible to account?"
President Donald Trump's ill-founded belief in the power of personal presidential interventions has only further undermined confidence that the US might take material actions to influence Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But what actions can a country like Australia take to influence Israel's actions?
The PM escalated language on the weekend, describing recent actions by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza as "completely indefensible" and warning Israel that it was losing international support by its actions.
But humanitarian groups, including those representing Palestinians, want Australia to do more. They say that, beyond calling on Israel to adhere to international human law, Australia should end all military cooperation and assistance, demand immediate and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and impose a comprehensive ban on all trade and economic activity in illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
They say Australia should call on the UN Security Council to impose multilateral targeted sanctions on Israeli officials responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
There may be deep scepticism about whether the Netanyahu government, which has escalated its attacks on Gaza in the past 24 hours, pays any attention to these demands.
But as Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said yesterday, "the credibility of the international law-based order hinges on its ability to apply the law universally without exception and without delay."
Laura Tingle is the ABC's Global Affairs Editor.