Dr Safiyyah Abbas, a paediatric rehabilitation physician with an interest in public and global health, sent the letter below to Prime Minister and Foreign Minister tonight.
It comes as the Australian Medical Association (AMA) is being urged to advocate for the protection of healthcare workers in Palestine, and for accountability for Israeli Government attacks on healthcare workers and infrastructure.
To Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong,
Like thousands of Australians, I urge you to immediately withdraw Australia’s support of Israel following their resumption of military attacks on Gaza last month. The enormity of Israel’s war crimes cannot be fully described in this letter but I feel compelled to condemn the killing of Palestinian journalists and aid workers who are protected under international humanitarian law, as well as the children whom I have a duty to speak up for as a paediatric doctor.
Israel’s resumption of genocidal warfare
On 15 March, Prime Minister, you released a statement acknowledging Russia’s “imperialist designs” and “illegal and immoral actions” in Ukraine, determining that “pressure will need to be applied to Russia” to attain peace. In a joint statement with Minister Wong on 16 March you condemned the “horrific violence” and “murder of innocent civilians” in Syria.
Then Israel broke a two-month ceasefire with attacks on multiple areas in Gaza on 18 March. Minister Wong, I was disappointed to read your corresponding statement where you called for respect of international humanitarian law without acknowledgement, let alone condemnation, of Israel’s illegal and immoral bombing of civilians including at least 174 children on one of the largest single-day child death tolls in the last year – let alone Israel’s preceding 17 months of genocidal warfare.
You stated that humanitarian aid has not entered Gaza for two weeks without naming or applying pressure to Israel, the responsible party for this crime against humanity. You framed the keeping of hostages by Hamas as the sole driver of ongoing conflict, omitting Israel’s detention of over 7,000 Palestinians and at least 185 healthcare workers without charge or trial, and its longstanding unlawful occupation and apartheid rule which has rendered Palestine an open-air prison – implicitly justifying Israel’s horrific and illegal actions which have killed over killed over 50,000 Palestinians, including 18,000 children.
Your silence remains as Israel killed two journalists on 24 March – Mohammed Mansour and 23-year-old Hossam Shabat – in further attempts to stifle coverage of its atrocities. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more journalists than “the U.S. Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War (including the conflicts in Cambodia and Laos), the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s and 2000s, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, combined” (see graph below, sourced from the Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs at Brown University).
Israel’s brutal execution of Palestinian aid workers
At the end of March, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) spent eight days appealing for international pressure on Israel to disclose the whereabouts of nine missing Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) after they were fired upon by the Israeli occupation forces. They were travelling in clearly marked vehicles in Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan district, en route to treat injured colleagues.
Fifteen bodies – including eight PRCS EMTs, six Civil Defence Members, and one member of the United Nations – were recovered on 31 March in a mass grave when international humanitarian teams were finally granted access. Bodies still clothed in their uniforms and gloves, and some with their hands tied and bullet wounds to the chest and head – unmistakable signs of execution. One PRCS medic remains missing.
Minister Wong, I was appalled by what was missing in your tribute on 1 April marking the one-year anniversary of the killing of Australian aid worker, Zomi Frankcom, whilst volunteering in Gaza. You cited her memory as an impetus for Australia to lead “a global push to protect aid workers in conflict zones”. You affirmed that aid workers “must always be protected” and that “Gaza is the deadliest place to be an aid worker with almost 400 killed since Oct 7, 2023”.
While you said that “the Albanese Government will continue to press Israel for transparency and progress in the investigation into Ms Frankcom’s death – and for there to be full accountability”, you omitted the fact that Frankcom and her colleagues were killed by Israel. Your words prove meaningless against your conspicuous silence and inaction regarding the aforementioned brutal killings of humanitarian workers reported hours earlier.
Mandatory reporting of child abuse and murder
I have an additional duty to speak up as one of the hundreds of thousands of Australians deemed mandatory reporters of child abuse for our work in child services. As a paediatric doctor, I am compelled to report the most horrific cases of state-sanctioned child murder and abuse en masse I have ever witnessed.
Physical abuse through indiscriminate bombs in civilian areas and targeted drone attacks that maim if not kill in the most horrific ways – overnight a baby girl was decapitated in an Israeli airstrike on an UNRWA clinic in Jabalia in north Gaza. Rape and other physical and non-physical acts of sexual violence, such as forced public nudity at checkpoints, in hospitals, and during evacuations. Psychological harm from “the emotional distress of dodging bombs and bullets, losing loved ones, being forced to flee through streets littered with debris and corpses, and waking up every morning not knowing if they will be able to eat” as described by Save the Children. Neglect through the blockade of essential goods for survival including food and medicine, not to mention the starvation of their lactating mothers, the killing of their parents, the destruction of their homes, schools, and water and sanitation infrastructure, and the cutting off of electricity,
Israel’s racist and dehumanising rhetoric towards Palestinians is another child protection issue given Israel, as the occupying power, has an obligation to ensure the basic needs of Palestinians are met. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the conflict as a “struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness”, referring to Israelis and their allies and Palestinians, respectively. Israeli Knesset member Amit Halevi referred to Palestinian newborns as “terrorists”. “There are no innocents in Gaza” is a sentiment flippantly expressed on Israeli radio and television, mirrored by the Israeli army’s unrestricted shooting practices whereby soldiers confess to shooting civilians out of boredom.
It is both my moral and professional obligation to speak up for Palestinian children and their families and communities upon whom they rely for survival, Palestinian children whose rights are no different to Australian children as enshrined in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. Reputable human rights and humanitarian organisations including Médecins Sans Frontières have resoundingly condemned Israel’s heinous war crimes for which their prime minister and former defence minister have outstanding arrest warrants. Australia’s continued support of Israel’s actions is not only morally reprehensible but demonstrates a rejection of international humanitarian law.
Australia must break ties with Israel
Prime Minister Albanese and Minister Wong, Australia must not aid Israel in committing genocide and child abuse in Palestine. I demand that Australia urgently breaks ties with Israel and implore you to take decisive action now: condemn Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law, impose sanctions on Israel, and end all arms transfers to Israel including F-35 components and spare parts.
Yours sincerely,
Safiyyah Abbas
See Croakey’s archive of articles on Gaza
