With less than 24 hours to go on this—and it isn’t a ceasefire; I want to be really clear about this. It has been called that in the media. It is a tactical pause or an operational pause. It is not a ceasefire. I support their calls, and my party members in the Greens support their calls, for a sustained humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
Senator WHISH-WILSON (Tasmania) (13:46): Last Friday, just a few days ago, after 47 days of one of the most brutal conflicts any of us have witnessed in modern times, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day truce—a truce which is due to finish tomorrow. After 47 days of civilians being deliberately and disproportionately targeted by both Hamas and the Israeli governments—after 47 days of clear war crimes being committed by both Hamas and the Israeli government—we have a four-day truce.
I’ve just come from a briefing by Amnesty International, Medecins Sans Frontieres and the international centre for justice, and I thank them for all the work that they have done throughout this crisis and for the information that they have provided to senators and members and staff in this building today. They are a trusted source of information, and they are on the front line. With less than 24 hours to go on this—and it isn’t a ceasefire; I want to be really clear about this. It has been called that in the media. It is a tactical pause or an operational pause. It is not a ceasefire. I support their calls, and my party members in the Greens support their calls, for a sustained humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
But I also support their calls for an arms embargo on both sides of this conflict—on the Israeli government and Hamas—from all sides, and for an investigation into war crimes committed by both parties in this horrific conflict. We’ve got one day left to go for our government to clearly call for a ceasefire.