Joint statement warns Netanyahu’s new ground offensive will worsen ‘catastrophic humanitarian situation’ as international outrage grows
Joint statement warns Netanyahu’s new ground offensive will worsen ‘catastrophic humanitarian situation’ as international outrage grows
Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has joined fresh international condemnation of Israel’s plans to control more of Gaza in a new ground offensive, warning it risks breaching international law and putting the lives of hostages and civilians in renewed danger.
Wong joined the foreign ministers of Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the UK in a joint statement on Saturday, saying the plans by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to control Gaza City will make an already perilous situation worse.
They said the “worst-case scenario” of mass famine was already unfolding in Gaza.
“The plans that the government of Israel has announced risk violating international humanitarian law. Any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law,” the statement said.
“It will aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of the hostages, and further risk the mass displacement of civilians.”
Netanyahu’s war cabinet on Friday went against the advice of Israel’s military leaders to agree on a further escalation in the 22-month war, planning a full takeover of Gaza’s largest city that is likely to result in mass displacement of an estimated 1 million Palestinians.
The moves sparked international outrage, though the plan has not been opposed by the US president, Donald Trump, Netanyahu’s strongest backer internationally.
