Anthony Albanese has strongly rejected Israel‘s claims that there’s no starvation in Gaza as ‘beyond comprehension’.
The Prime Minister was responding to statements made by his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel’s deputy ambassador to Australia, during a Labor caucus meeting on Tuesday.
‘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.
It comes after Albanese on Friday declared Israel’s retaliation in Gaza following the October 7 attack by Hamas had ‘gone beyond the world’s worst fears’.
Then 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 was ‘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.
Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq being held by his mother Hedaya al-Muta’wi in Gaza
The images of Muhammad, who is 18 months old, have shocked the world
Anthony Albanese has ramped up his criticism of Israel’s treatment of starving Palestinians
There has since been unverified reports that little Muhammad has pre-existing conditions including cerebral palsy.
CNN reported that Muhammad’s mother also 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 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.
At the caucus meeting, Albanese was also asked about Palestinian statehood.
Palestinians struggle to access food as a charity distributes meals in Gaza
He referenced a Nelson Mandela quote, saying ‘it always seems impossible until it’s done’.
Albanese has previously said any resolution on the issue would need to guarantee that Hamas, the de facto 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.
Recognition of Palestinian statehood has been part of Labor’s national platform since 2018.
Labor is facing intensifying pressure to follow France in recognising a Palestinian state at a United Nations General Assembly meeting in September.
The Greens are calling on the government to impose the same sanctions on Israel as it had done so for Russia.
The minor party is also seeking a ban on buying items that can help fund the war, pointing to sanctions on pearls and truffles for Russia.
