Penny Wong has made one of her strongest statements yet on the ongoing war in Gaza, declaring a planned Israeli ground offensive in Rafah would be “unjustifiable” and urged the Jewish state to “not go down this path”.
“The world is watching,” the Foreign Minister warned Israel in a statement to the foreign affairs senate estimates on Thursday.
The Israeli military is planning an operation into Rafah, a small city at the southern end of the Gaza Strip which is currently sheltering about 1.5 million Palestinians, many of whom who have fled to the area since October 7.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to defeat the Hamas operatives he claims are hiding in the city.
Senator Wong said Australia strongly objected to the offensive, saying it would bring “devastation” to the innocent civilians seeking shelter.
“Large scale military opposite 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 first launched their terror 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. 1.7 5 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 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’ 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 $6 million in additional funding for UNRWA has been temporarily paused,” Senator Wong said.
“I want to emphasise, this does not affect Australia’s annual core funding of $20.6 million – core funding that was doubled by this Government, and which has already been provided for this financial year.
“Since the beginning of this conflict Australia has committed $46.5 million in humanitarian assistance. This full amount will be delivered.”
She said she wanted to resolve the issue of reinstating funding to the agency “as quickly as possible”, but stressed her “first duty as a minister of the crown is to make a judgment about whether I can continue to fund an organisation when such serious allegations have been not only raised but also countenanced and action taken by the organisation itself”.
She said there was “a lot of action being taken” in order to resolve the matter quickly.
Asked about the future of Palestine, Senator Wong said her recent visit to the Middle East had reinforced her long-held view that a two-state solution is necessary for both Israelis and Palestinians
“We will not see Israel have the security that it is entitled to, nor the Palestinian people fulfil their aspirations for peace and security, unless there is a two-state solution,” she said.
She conced the status quo was “failing everyone”.
“I don’t think there is a lasting peace unless this issue is resolved. This is a discussion about what is the pathway to peace that is viable and … the question is: how can recognition contribute to achieving real progress,” she said.
She reiterated that Hamas could have “no future role in the governance of Gaza”.