Australians are distressed by the images of children starving as a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza worsens, Foreign Minister Penny Wong says.
The comments followed a strongly-worded statement from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who said the situation in Gaza, where vision of emaciated children has become the norm as Israel denies aid to civilians, had “gone beyond the world’s worst fears”.
The escalation in rhetoric has added intrigue as to whether Australia will follow France’s lead in recognising Palestine.
Asked about Australia’s intentions for a UN General Assembly in September, Senator Wong would not rule out support for statehood.
“We all are distressed by the ongoing violence, the deaths of so many innocent civilians, the images of children starving, the humanitarian catastrophe that is worsening before our eyes, and we all want it to stop,” she told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
The prime minister earlier urged Israel to comply with its obligations under international law.
“Israel’s denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children, seeking access to water and food cannot be defended or ignored,” he said.
“Every innocent life matters. Every Israeli. Every Palestinian.”
Mr Albanese stopped short of saying Australia would immediately join France in recognising Palestinian statehood after the European nation became the largest Western power to signal it would make the announcement.
Mr Albanese instead said recognising the “legitimate aspirations of Palestinian people for a state of their own” was a bipartisan position.
“Australia is committed to a future where both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples can live in peace and safety, within internationally recognised borders,” he said.
“Until that day, every effort must be made here and now to safeguard innocent life and end the suffering and starvation of the people of Gaza.”
Ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation, have collapsed after Israel and the US withdrew from talks.
With aid being throttled at the border and all entry points to Gaza controlled by Israel, former USAID official Jeremy Konyndyk said Australia and the other nations must do more as the situation in Gaza was “purely a political famine”.
“Nothing about this is natural or organic – it’s 100 per cent man-made,” the Refugees International president told ABC Radio.
“We are at – if not past – a tipping point.”
The Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which began operations in May, has been accused of obstructing operations by the United Nations and other aid groups, and putting starving Palestinians in danger.
According to Mr Konyndyk, its aid packages were small and insufficient and the foundation’s facilities were located far from population centres.
“The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a farce,” he said.
Israel, which began letting in only a trickle of supplies to Gaza in recent months, has previously blamed Hamas for disrupting food distribution and accused it of using stolen aid to fund its war effort.
While the coalition said it had “strong concerns” about the worsening humanitarian situation, opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said it was disappointing Mr Albanese’s statement did not place any blame on Hamas.
“Any moral outrage about the situation in Gaza should be directed at Hamas,” she said.
Israel has enforced a complete embargo on humanitarian aid and medical supplies for almost three months after a ceasefire deal broke down earlier in 2025.
In recent months, more than 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid, many of them shot by the Israeli military, UN sources have found.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza.
Its military campaign was launched after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Mr Albanese also condemned the “terror and brutality” of Hamas and repeated calls for the release of the remaining hostages.
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
