Alison Barrett writes:
The Medical Association for the Prevention of War has published an open letter to Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong, urging the Australian Government to reset its strategy on Palestine, by ceasing “all political, military and economic ties with Israel”.
The Association’s President, Dr Sue Wareham OAM, also calls for the second-term Albanese Government to “strongly and publicly” reject Israeli plans, announced this week, to forcibly displace the Palestinian population and destroy what remains of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.
“Australia has failed to take decisive actions to prevent further atrocities, as is required by international law and basic human morals,” Wareham said.
“There have been no measures taken that are remotely comparable to those taken against Russia for its invasion and brutality in Ukraine.”
Wareham wrote that “genocide in Palestine continues to stand as one of the most urgent challenges to peace, international law, and human morality today”.
“In over 19 months, diplomatic mechanisms have failed to prevent or to punish widespread and systematic violations of international law, for which the people of Gaza have paid an unimaginable price,” she said.
Wareham told Minister Wong that “history will record what action you take on behalf of Australia in response to what the UN experts, and many others, call an ‘unfolding genocide’.”
Meanwhile, it’s been revealed that 57 children in Gaza have died from the effects of malnutrition since Israel began the aid blockade more than two months ago, according to the World Health Organization.
An update by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) partnership this week has also warned that the 2.1 million people across the Gaza Strip are at a critical risk of famine in the next five months, marking a “significant deterioration” since the previous analysis in October 2024.
The IPC report “shows that without immediate access to food and essential supplies, the situation will continue to deteriorate, causing more deaths and descent into famine,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“We do not need to wait for a declaration of famine in Gaza to know that people are already starving, sick and dying, while food and medicines are minutes away across the border,” he said.
The IPC estimates that nearly 71,000 children under the age of five will experience acute malnutrition between April 2025 and May 2026 while 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will need treatment for acute malnutrition.
The IPC says, “only an immediate and sustained cessation of hostilities and the resumption of humanitarian aid delivery can prevent a descent into famine”.
Human Rights Watch calls on all parties to the Genocide Convention do more to “prevent further atrocities” including ending military aid, weapons sales and diplomatic support to Israel.
Attacks on healthcare
This week has also brought more Israeli attacks on healthcare in Gaza, as reported by the WHO and others.
Al-Nakba
Yesterday, 15 May, marked 77 years since Al-Nakba, “the catastrophe”, when more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes by Israeli military forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
It was the beginning of a violent campaign against the Palestinian people that continues to this day, said the Australian National Imams Council.
The Council calls on the Australian Government to end all arms sales to Israel and impose a full arms embargo in line with Australia’s obligations under international law and take real and tangible action to stop complicity in crimes against humanity.
Further commentary
In a statement on 14 May, MSF said:
“Since Israel’s resumption of attacks and its total blockade of aid on 2 March, Gaza has become a hell on earth for Palestinians. The survival of Palestinians lies at the mercy of Israeli authorities, who are denying the entire population access to food, water, medical care and shelter. Israel continues to pursue its campaign of ethnic cleansing by deliberately destroying the conditions necessary for life.
Organisations including World Central Kitchen and the World Food Programme (WFP) have announced that they have no more food stocks available in Gaza: most community kitchens and bakeries have closed. MSF medical teams in Gaza City have seen a 32 per cent increase in the number of patients presenting with malnutrition over the past two weeks.”
See Croakey’s archive of articles on Gaza
