Penny Wong urges Israel to abandon ‘devastating’ invasion on Rafah
Penny Wong says she has reiterated to Israel Australia's opposition to the invasion of Rafah. Photo: AFP/Getty
Australia says Israel’s ground invasion in Gaza will have “devastating” impacts on Palestinian civilians, as the Foreign Minister reiterated the government’s strong objection to the military offensive.
The Israeli military ordered civilians in parts of Rafah to leave on Monday ahead of a planned ground invasion in an area where more than one million Palestinians had sheltered after evacuating from other parts of Gaza.
Penny Wong said she had reiterated to Israel Australia’s opposition to the invasion on Wednesday and called for a humanitarian ceasefire to enable hostages to be released and unimpeded aid to flow.
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“More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are sheltering in Rafah, from the fighting elsewhere,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The impacts on Palestinian civilians from an expanded military operation would be devastating.”
Australia continues to support the work of Qatar, the US and Egypt to broker a deal for a ceasefire, she said.
Senator Wong on Monday said Australia had made it clear Israel “should not go down this path”, expressing the nation’s “grave concern” and called on the Netanyahu government to change course.
She held calls with the Palestinian Authority’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Mustafa and the United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed on Tuesday night.
Both calls centred on the conflict in the Middle East, including Rafah, the release of Israeli hostages, and the prospects for a ceasefire agreement.
Palestinian statehood was also discussed with the minister, acknowledging the issue was currently being considered by the international community.
Senator Wong met with the UAE’s Minister of State for International Co-operation and Special Envoy to Australia Reem Al Hashimy, who is in Adelaide.
She also spoke with New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters late on Tuesday.
Hamas, considered a terrorist organisation by the federal government, attacked Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.
In response, the Israeli military has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and injured at least 77,000 others, according to the local health ministry.
-AAP
