Deliberately starving civilians is a war crime, foreign affairs minister Penny Wong has said, joining international condemnation of comments made by the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.
On Wednesday, Smotrich suggested that deliberately starving people in Gaza might be “justified and moral”.
“No one in the world will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be justified and moral in order to free the hostages,” he said.
On Saturday, Wong said in a statement on X that: “The deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime. There is no justification for it, ever.”
“Australia joins international partners, including the United Kingdom, Germany and France, in condemning the comments made by Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich,” the Australian foreign minister said.
Shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham, labelled the comments “repugnant”.
“We maintain our consistent call for respect of international law and humanitarian needs,” he said.
“The implication in Bezalel Smotrich’s comments is repugnant. Thankfully the comments do not reflect Israeli policy and nor should they ever do so.”
The UN’s human rights commissioner, Volker Türk, has demanded an investigation into Smotrich, saying his comments incited hatred against civilians.
Australia joins international partners, including the United Kingdom, Germany and France, in condemning the comments made by Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) August 9, 2024
The deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime.
There is no justification for it, ever.
Wong also repeated calls for all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
“An immediate ceasefire in Gaza has never been more urgent, to protect civilians, see hostages released and enable aid to flow,” she said.
The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, also deplored the comments this week.
“There can be no justification for Minister Smotrich’s remarks and we expect the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn them,” he posted to X.
Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, labelled the minister’s remarks as “unacceptable and appalling”, while France said Israel had an “obligation under international humanitarian law” to provide aid to the people of Gaza.
Smotrich has also labelled a proposed deal for a ceasefire a “dangerous trap” and said that any deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip before Hamas had been destroyed would allow Hamas to regroup and murder Jews.
Those statements were “outrageous and absurd” and would jeopardise Israel’s security, said the US White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby.
“I want to underscore how wrong this is, not only in substance, but also jeopardising the lives of the hostages and running counter to Israel’s own national security interests,” he said.
According to CNN, Kirby said Smotrich “essentially suggests that the war ought to go on indefinitely without pause and with the lives of the hostages of no real concern at all”.
“His arguments are dead wrong. They’re misleading the Israeli public,” he said.
About 1200 Israelis were killed and 250 hostages taken after Hamas militants stormed a music festival on 7 October. In response, Israel’s military has killed almost 40,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry.
– with AAP
