The Australian government should impose targeted sanctions on Israeli officials who have called for the denial of aid to civilians of Gaza, according to humanitarian organisations, faith groups and health experts.
The Australian Council for International Development (Acfid), the peak body for Australian aid groups, said a “man-made, preventable famine” in Gaza would leave “a permanent stain on all our collective humanity”.
Acfid is leading the call for Australia to introduce targeted sanctions “on Israeli officials who have called for the denial of aid, and military and civil servants denying essential food and materials to civilians of Gaza”.
It has been joined in making the call by the National Council of Churches in Australia, the Australian National Imams Council and the Australian Global Health Alliance.
They are also urging the Australian government to use “all diplomatic measures to achieve a permanent ceasefire” and to end any military cooperation between Israeli and Australian companies.
Israel, in its submissions to the International Court of Justice, rejected “in the strongest terms” any claims that incidents of starvation in Gaza were a direct result of its deliberate acts and omissions.
It maintains that its military operations in Gaza are a legitimate response to Hamas’s 7 October attack on southern Israel.
But the fatal drone strikes last week on three cars carrying seven aid workers, including Australian Zomi Frankcom, have led to a ratcheting up of international pressure on Israel. The Israeli military labelled the incident “a grave mistake” stemming from “mistaken identification”.
The National Council of Churches in Australia, which has 18 member churches, said it was “dismayed by news of the deaths of the seven aid workers”.
Its president, Rev John Gilmore, said there could be “no excusing this terrible action, nor for starvation coming from the impact of the war”.
Israel announced late last week that it would reopen a key crossing into Gaza and allow more aid through another crossing and a port after a warning from Joe Biden that future US support would depend on concrete action to protect civilians.
But the Acfid chief executive, Marc Purcell, said Israel continued to block the UN agency Unrwa from delivering aid in northern Gaza, even though “all objective observers believe Unrwa is the only show in Gaza that can deliver assistance at scale”.
The Israeli government has accused Unrwa of complicity with Hamas and argues aid should be channelled through other organisations.
Purcell said statements by leading ministers and officials at the outset of the conflict – including the defence minister, Yoav Gallant, saying “there will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed” – reflected an intent “to make non-combatants and civilians suffer to apply pressure”.
He also cited comments by the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, that if Hamas did not release hostages “the only thing that needs to enter Gaza are hundreds of tons of [Israeli air force] explosives, not an ounce of humanitarian aid”.
Purcell said sanctions were merited because the Australian government had long pledged to uphold international rules and norms and “you can’t pick and choose when to act when egregious humans rights violations occur”.
The executive director of the Australian Global Health Alliance, Dr Selina Namchee Lo, said there was “a vicious cycle between malnutrition and illness”.
She said it was “unconscionable to continue to withhold access to life-saving food aid from those who desperately need it”.
The president of the Australian National Imams Council, Shadi Alsuleiman, said the worsening conditions facing the people of Gaza had prompted the ICJ to call for “unhindered provision at scale” of urgently needed aid.
Israel denies blocking aid, saying any shortages are a result of logistics failures by humanitarian organisations or Hamas diverting supplies.
But Israeli inspections have been seen as a major hindrance to the flow of aid, with aid agencies and diplomats complaining about arbitrary definitions of what may be a security risk.
The chief of the Israeli military, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, reiterated in a video message last week: “Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza.”
