The Australian government must take immediate and concrete action to hold Israel accountable for its ongoing war crimes, including the systematic targeting of Palestinian medical facilities, health workers and patients.
In the early hours of this morning, Israeli Occupation Forces directly bombed the surgical department of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, one of the few partially functioning medical services in Gaza, which is currently treating hundreds of patients.
The attack ignited a large blaze, adding to the devastation. At least five Palestinians have been killed in the bombing, and eight other people have been wounded.
This is not the first time Israel has targeted Nasser Hospital. Over months, Israeli forces have besieged the hospital, deployed snipers against medical staff, and turned a place of healing into a site of massacre,
After Israeli forces’ withdrawal in April 2024, mass graves containing the bodies of more than 310 Palestinians – women, men, children and medical personnel – were discovered within the hospital grounds. Reports indicate that many of these people had been stripped of their clothes, had their hands tied, and bore signs of torture.
These deliberate attacks are part of Israel’s broader strategy of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Medical facilities have been systematically targeted throughout Gaza, despite the Geneva Convention stipulating that hospitals be respected and protected at all times.
The Palestine Red Crescent (PRC) has reported that Israeli forces have refused to coordinate the evacuation of medical teams trapped in Rafah, where at least 50,000 Palestinians are under siege while being subjected to ongoing Israeli bombardment and denied aid, food and water. Communication with the PRC medical teams has been cut off for more than 15 hours.
Meanwhile, Israel continues its violent policies of ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank, forcing more than 44,000 Palestinians from their homes during the past three months with nothing more than they could carry in their hands, while approving the construction of more illegal settlements.
Of this policy, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has stated, ““Instead of hiding and apologising – we raise the flag, build and settle.”
Israel openly admits to these policies of ethnic cleansing and genocide – flagrant violations of international law – yet Australia refuses to take meaningful steps to hold Israel accountable.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network demands that the Australian government immediately impose sanctions and a two-way arms embargo on Israel, condemn Israel’s attacks on medical facilities and demand accountability for these and other war crimes, call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and ensure all barriers preventing urgent humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians in Gaza are lifted.
Comments attributed to APAN President Nasser Mashni:
“How many times must Israel bomb Palestinian hospitals before the Australian government takes action?
“Every missile, every blockade, every mass grave, every tortured body is a test of our humanity, and so far, Australia is failing dismally.
“Palestinian and foreign health workers are being attacked while caring for the wounded. Patients are being bombed in their beds. Children are being burned alive. This is genocide in real time, Australia’s obligation is to act to prevent it, and it is not.
“Where is Australia’s red line? If 18 months of massacres of medics, patients, children, is not enough, what will it take?”