‘Rafah’s a step too far’
Foreign Minister tells Israel: Don’t ‘go down this path’
Penny Wong has made one of her strongest statements yet on the Gaza conflict, declaring a planned Israeli ground offensive in Rafah would be “unjustifiable” and urging Israel to “not go down this path”.
“The world is watching,” the Foreign Minister said in a statement to foreign affairs senate estimates on Thursday.
Israel is planning an operation into Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering, many of whom have fled to the area since October 7.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to defeat the Hamas operatives he says are hiding there.
Senator Wong said Australia strongly objected to the offensive, saying it would bring “devastation” to the innocent civilians seeking shelter.
“Large-scale military operations in densely populated areas risk extensive civilian casualties,” she said. “Australia believes this would be unjustifiable. Our message to Israel is – listen to the world; do not go down this path.”
The Government’s tune has changed since Hamas launched their attack on October 7, where thousands of Israelis were killed and hundreds of hostages taken.
Senator Wong said Australia still wanted all the hostages to be returned.
The Senator’s strong statements came after Muslim
Labor cabinet minister Ed Husic earlier said Israel could not “ignore” Australia’s objections.
“It’s hard to see how you can, as I said this is an area the size of Heathrow Airport where 1.5 million people have been crammed in. How do you undertake military exercise in there?” he said to ABC Radio.
“I think about 80 per cent of the Gazan population – 1.75 million people – they’ve got nowhere to live. And there are a lot of them that have now moved into Rafah … we can’t look away.”
During senate estimates, Senator Wong also said the
United Nation’s aid agency in Gaza, UNRWA, was vital to supporting Palestinians.
Australia joined like minded countries in pausing funding to the agency in the wake of allegations some staff were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Senator Wong said Australia supported a thorough investigation so funding could be restored, but stressed the Government hadn’t cut its overall funding to the region.
“For Australia, this means the recently announced $6m in additional funding for UNRWA has been temporarily paused,” she said.