Anthony Albanese slams Israel over Gaza starvation claims
'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. Albanese declared Israel's retaliation to the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas had 'gone beyond the world's worst fears'. 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 were 'a start'. 'It just breaks your heart,' Albanese told ABC's Insiders on Sunday. Photos of Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq being held by his mother Hedaya al-Muta'wi in Gaza, taken on July 21, have shocked the world after going viral.
There has since been unverified reports that the boy had pre-existing conditions including cerebral palsy. CNN reported that Muhammad's mother revealed that her son has a 'muscle disorder' and receives specialised nutrition and physical therapy.
Netanyahu has said: 'There is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza...' Israel's deputy ambassador to Australia Amir Meron told journalists on Monday 'we don't recognise any famine or any starvation in the Gaza Strip'. Overnight, Donald Trump contradicted Netanyahu by stating many people were starving in the Gaza Strip and suggested more could be done to improve humanitarian access.
The number of Palestinians believed to have been killed during the ongoing Israeli military action in Gaza is nearing 60,000 people, according to local health authorities. While air drops of aid have been carried out into Gaza, humanitarian agencies say they aren't enough to deal with worsening levels of starvation in the area.
Albanese has previously said any resolution on the statehood issue would need to guarantee that Hamas, the ruling authority in Gaza which Australia has designated a terrorist group, plays no part in the future nation. There would also need to be agreements on the rebuilding of Gaza and the West Bank, and a resolution of issues over the expansion of Israeli settlements.
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