Community leaders, Opposition, Israel condemn joint Gaza statement
'Hamas is intent on prolonging the war, and are refusing to sign a ceasefire deal Israel has agreed to'
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has defended a joint statement co-signed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong calling for an immediate end to the Gaza war as Australia’s “strongest statement” since the conflict began, amid strong criticism form community leaders, the Federal Opposition and Israeli Foreign Ministry.
The joint statement, signed by foreign ministers from 28 countries including Australia, declared “the war in Gaza must end now” and condemned Israel’s aid delivery model in the Strip.
“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 read.
The signatories condemned “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food” and said it was “horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid”.
It also condemned Hamas’s continued detention of hostages taken on October 7, 2023, calling for their “immediate and unconditional release” and describing a negotiated ceasefire as offering “the best hope of bringing them home”.
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