Key Points
- Authorities are working on a 24-hour basis to confirm the safety of Australians in Israel.
- Anthony Albanese and Richard Marles are among federal politicians who have condemned the “abhorrent” attacks by Hamas militants.
- Pro-Palestinian protests have taken place as others attend vigils to mourn those killed.
The Australian government says it has authorities working around the clock to determine the safety of thousands of Australians in the Middle East, a day after Israel pounded the Palestinian enclave of Gaza in retaliation for one of the bloodiest attacks in its history.
About 900 people are dead and thousands more wounded after the Islamist group Hamas attacked Israeli towns on Saturday in a continuation of a 75-year-long Arab-Israel conflict. At least a further 400 were killed in Israel’s retaliatory attacks.
There are unconfirmed reports of an Australian hostage.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has stressed Australia remains committed to a two-state solution providing a “just and enduring peace” for both Israelis and Palestinians, but warned Hamas has “set back this cause”.
Defence Minister Richard Marles would not provide more detail but he confirmed there were no Australian casualties at this stage.
“We will be pretty reticent about talking about any individual cases,” he told Seven’s Sunrise program on Tuesday.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said authorities were working in over time to verify the safety of more than 10,000 Australians in Israel. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
“There are about 10,000 Australians who live in Israel, and there are more who are tourists so right now we are in the process of trying to assess the wellbeing of all of those Australians.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there were concerns about wider conflict in the region and the safety of Australians in the Middle East.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are working on a 24-hour basis to keep on top of the situation,” he told Adelaide radio station 5AA.
Hamas militants have taken dozens of Israelis hostage, with Reuters reporting on Tuesday the movement, which controls Gaza in the Palestinian territories, plans to execute captives if civilian houses are bombed.
The significant escalation is the latest in a long-standing conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Hamas is a Palestinian military and political group, gaining power in the Gaza Strip since winning legislative elections there in 2006.
Hamas’s stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state, while refusing to recognise Israel’s right to exist.
Hamas, in its entirety, is designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. Some countries list only its military wing as a terrorist group.
The UN though did not condemn Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organisation, due to insufficient support from member states to do so during a 2018 vote.
Pro-Palestinian protests labelled ‘un-Australian’
Marles, Albanese and several frontbenchers have condemned the Hamas attacks and criticised Monday night’s pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters marched on the Sydney Opera House and set off flares while chanting anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish rhetoric as the sails were lit up in the blue and white of the Israeli flag on Monday night.
Government Services Minister Bill Shorten has condemned what he describes as antisemitic chanting at a rally in Sydney. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
It coincided with the gathering of hundreds of people in a Melbourne synagogue to mourn the dead and pray for the captured.
Speaking in the Philippines on Tuesday, Wong described unfolding violence in the region as “deeply distressing for many in our community”.
“I know that many people wish to express their views. I want to urge all Australians to maintain respect for one another,” she said.
“We are a country that people want to come to because we are tolerant, we are respectful, we are peaceful. There is no place for antisemitism, no place for hatred and prejudice.
“All of us have an obligation to each other and the Australian community to uphold those values.”
Wong stressed Australia’s guiding principle in the region was a “just and enduring peace”, with a two-state solution allowing Palestinians and Israelis to live within secure borders.
“The actions of Hamas are completely inconsistent with this aspiration. They have set back this cause,” she said.
Marles said nothing justified the “act of terror” and killing of innocents after hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters chanted anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish rhetoric.
The loss of innocent lives “is something that is never to be celebrated”, Albanese said.
“The events on the weekend deserve unequivocal condemnation. These were quite horrific scenes,” he said.
“This just provides for the murder of innocent civilians that does nothing to advance a political cause.”
Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni said he couldn’t condone violence, but questioned why Palestinian voices were only heard when Israel was attacked but not when 250 of his people were killed this year.
“No building has been ever lit up in the Palestinian flag,” he told ABC TV.
“Israel has been at war with Palestinians for 75 years, all we want is what everybody else wants – we want to go to music festivals, we want our children to go to school and come home safely, we want to live freely.”
Australians react to Israeli-Palestinian conflict
At a rally of about 500 Palestine supporters at the Sydney Town Hall, Palestinian and academic Fahad Ali called on the words of South African apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, saying Palestinians had been left with no choice but armed struggle.
“The world has done nothing to support us,” he said.
“Non-violent protest has been criminalised. Governments, including the government of this colonial entity that we call Australia, are tripping over themselves to outlaw boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel.
Participants of a Free Palestine rally outside the Sydney Opera House on Monday night. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
“When all channels and peaceful protests had been barred to us, the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle. We did so not because we desired such a course but solely because the government had left us with no other choice.”
Protesters called for Australia to impose sanctions on Israel for their historic treatment of Palestinians.
Some of those attending spoke to SBS News.
“The 75 years of occupation, oppression, full of blockage, apartheid, discrimination, and killing, daily killing, arresting people,” one man said.
“And this is the time for them to stand up for themselves and to say enough is enough. We need our freedom. We need peace,” a woman said.
In Melbourne, hundreds of people, including former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg, gathered at Caulfield Shule for a vigil on Monday night.
Hundreds mourned and prayed for the victims of Hamas attacks in Israel in vigils held across Australia. Source: AAP / Con Chronis
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told them “Australia’s heart breaks” for them and described the Hamas attack as an act of “terrorism”.
On Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for the pro-Palestinian rally to be called off out of respect for the loss of life.
“I support people’s right to demonstrate their views – we’re a democratic nation … But what is to be served apart from creating a climate that is not conducive to peace?” he told Sydney radio 2GB.
Participants of a Free Palestine rally outside the Sydney Opera House on Monday, which was criticised by federal politicians. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has also defended Israel.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi criticised the decision to illuminate Canberra’s Parliament House in blue and white in support of Israel on Monday night.
“One colonial government supporting another. What a disgrace,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
