We grieve for the 10,000 civilians reported killed in the intervening period. Forty per cent of those who have died in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza are children—over 4,000 innocent young lives lost. This cannot go on. Behind each of these numbers are people—people with families, lives, dreams and aspirations; people who matter; people who all have equal worth. Together, all Australians must call for a ceasefire and an enduring end to the cycle of violence paid for in civilian lives.
Senator DAVID POCOCK (Australian Capital Territory) (16:31): Today, one month on from the Hamas terrorist attack, we mourn the 1,400 civilians killed. We repeat our call for the immediate release of the 240 civilians taken hostage. We grieve for the 10,000 civilians reported killed in the intervening period. Forty per cent of those who have died in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza are children—over 4,000 innocent young lives lost. This cannot go on. Behind each of these numbers are people—people with families, lives, dreams and aspirations; people who matter; people who all have equal worth. Together, all Australians must call for a ceasefire and an enduring end to the cycle of violence paid for in civilian lives.
And we must remember that how we talk about this matters. How we talk about this has real implications for people in our communities. Israelis are not Benjamin Netanyahu. Palestinians are not Hamas. We must call out antisemitism. We must call out Islamophobia. Every person in our communities around Australia must at all times feel safe. Hate speech cannot be tolerated. Nobody has the right to play politics with this unprecedented human suffering. I stand here to plead with all of you in this place and all around Australia: please come together to call for a ceasefire now.