Australian PM Albanese Slams Israel’s Gaza Aid Blockade as “Outrageous”: “People Are Starving”

Canberra (Quds News Network)- Australian Prime minister Anthony Albanese has called Israel’s blockade of aid into Gaza “an outrage,” condemning Israel’s “excuses” for blocking critical food and medical supplies as “completely untenable,” amid warnings of a looming famine in the enclave.

In a press conference on Monday morning, Albanese said: “Israel’s actions are completely unacceptable.”

“It is outrageous that there be a blockade of food and supplies to people who are in need in Gaza … People are starving. The idea that a democratic state withholds supply is an outrage.”

Last week, Australia joined 22 other nations in condemning Israel over its decision to allow only very limited aid into Gaza, adding voice to a joint statement – also signed by the UK, Canada and New Zealand. The statement demanded Israel to let aid into Gaza, warning that the population faced “starvation”. It said humanitarian aid should never be politicised.

Foreign minister Penny Wong also said the Israeli occupation government “cannot allow the suffering” in Gaza to continue.

On Monday, Albanese noted Australia’s signing of the joint statement.

“I made it very clear that Australia finds these actions as completely unacceptable and we find Israel’s excuses and explanations completely untenable and without credibility,” Albanese said.

“That is [a position] I have indicated clearly and directly to the Israeli government. It’s one that we will continue to be part of international statements as we were last week.”

“The whole world is concerned about what has occurred with the blockade and Australia will continue to make clear statements on that.”

Albanese’s comments come days after former Labor minister Ed Husic said Australia “can and should be doing more” in an article for Guardian Australia.

Husic said the government should call in the Israeli ambassador to demand “immediate freer, rapid flow of humanitarian aid”, as well as rapidly increase contributions to international aid efforts.

“Australia has a proud tradition of refusing to be silent on the world stage when it comes to defending vulnerable and oppressed people. We can be emboldened by our legacy of doing so. Two million starving people in Gaza need all the help we can muster alongside others,” he wrote.

Greens senator David Shoebridge on Monday urged the government to go further, repeating his call for the Albanese government to end defence’s multimillion dollar contracts with two Israeli arms companies and their subsidiaries.

On March 2, Israel announced the closure of Gaza’s main crossings, cutting off food, medical and humanitarian supplies, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians, according to reports by human rights organisations who have accused it of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinains.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report warned that almost a quarter of the civilian population would face catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase Five) in the coming months.

However, after about 80 days of total blockade and starvation and widespread international outrage, Israel announced about a week ago it will allow a very limited passage of aid trucks into the enclave through several international organizations until a new US-Israeli aid mechanism begins.

However, the United Nations confirmed that Israel is still blocking food from reaching starving Palestinians with only a few trucks of aid having reached Gaza.

UN secretary general, António Guterres, said on Friday that Israel had only authorised for Gaza what “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required” to ease the crisis.

The limited number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza falls far short of meeting the territory’s vast humanitarian needs and instead serves as a “smokescreen” for Israel to “pretend the siege is over,” according to the medical charity Doctors Without Borders.

Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, issued a stark warning that 14,000 babies are at risk of dying if humanitarian aid does not reach them—a figure he described as “utterly chilling”.