In the hours following this morning’s hospital bombing in Northern Gaza, there was much debate over whether it was an Israeli Defence Force air strike that killed hundreds of people or a “failed” Hamas rocket.
The “facts” regarding the explosion were running rife across X, formerly known as Twitter. Grainy video footage was being examined, various “experts” were sharing their analysis of the moment of the explosion and how the ground moved at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.
Given it’s still less than 12 hours since the bombing, we can assume rescue efforts are continuing and there are likely still people – women, children, the elderly, sick and already injured – alive and under the rubble, and frantic rescuers trying to save the injured and dead while also counting the dead bodies. They do so under the worst possible conditions, given shortages of water, food and medical supplies.
Does it matter who fired the rocket during the immediate hours following the attack? Are the lives of the children killed worth any less if it was a “failed” launch attempt by Hamas, or a misdirection from the IDF? Are the survivors and rescuers any less deserving of having access to food, water, supplies and electricity – and now another safe hospital for the injured – depending on background and the intentions of who issued the order? Do the lives lost mean anything less, or anything more, if this is or is not declared a “war crime” by whoever believes they have the right to determine whether it fits such definitions?
Both Israel and Hamas have denied blame for the bombing. The Palestinian health authority says at least 500 people died during the explosion, with hundreds more injured. The International Committee of the Red Cross has declared it is “shocked and horrified” by the reports and that “hospitals should be sanctuaries to preserve human life, no scenes of death and destruction.”
And Australian politicians are carefully tiptoeing around the matter, likely awaiting further information but also cautious of the idea that addressing the deaths of Palestinians will somehow minimise their condemnation of Hamas.
Calling out the horrific humanitarian crisis unfolding minute by minute in Gaza does not mean you don’t also categorically reject the horrific terror unleashed on Israeli civilians by Hamas, women and children and the elderly among them, on the 7th of October, in what has become the worst mass slaughter of Jewish people on a single day since the Holocaust. Stories from the murderous rampage highlight the slaughter of children and sexual violence against women. Hamas continues to hold close to 200 hostages, and demands for their safe and immediate return must continue.
But we are yet to see, beyond a handful of comments that in many cases have been walked back, Australian politicians making firm and strong statements calling for the real protection of Palestinian civilians in the Israeli response. There have been few questions over Israel’s evacuation order, telling 1.1 million people in Northern Gaza to move South and putting around 20 hospitals on the evacuation order list – an order that runs contrary to international humanitarian law, which declares that any warnings to civilians must be “effective”, in ensuring the message reaches civilians while also giving reasonable time to leave and access to safe places to go. There are too few questions on the complete siege of the Gaza Strip, which runs contrary to international law, which requires civilians to have access to humanitarian relief, including food and water. There are also rules regarding the treatment of displaced persons, including measures regarding the ‘satisfactory conditions’ around shelter, hygiene, health and safety – which seems impossible to achieve when access to critical supplies are cut off and within the confined and tight space that is the Gaza strip.
The World Health Organisation’s Executive Director Mike Ryan has declared, “the violence has to stop, on all sides.” The United Nations Antonio Guterres has declared he is “horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza today, which I strongly condemn.’ The UN’s Relief Chief Martin Griffiths has declared that “Gaza is on its knees. The health, water and sanitation systems are collapsing. People are being stripped of their dignity.”
But it is, so far, a softer tone from Australia’s party leaders highlighting the desperate situation in Gaza. Other than from the Greens, who this morning called for a motion to call for an end to the invasion of Gaza, which was defeated by Labor and the Coalition. Earlier this week, two Teal independents toyed for a moment at supporting amendments to the motion on Israel’s right to defend itself, highlighting the need to protect Palestinian civilians. Dr Sophie Scamps and Kylea Tink did end up backing the motion signed by the government and the Opposition to support Israel. Senator Penny Wong, meanwhile, received the Peter Dutton treatment for her use of the word “restraint” last week regarding Israel’s response to the attack.
“I think it is always the right thing for Australia to urge restraint and the protection of civilian lives,” Wong said. To which Dutton responded, “It’s completely and utterly the wrong time for that sort of language.”
Where there have been calls for restraint outside of the Greens and acknowledgement of the deaths of Palestinian civilians – and they have typically come from women – the comments have been met with outrage, and frontpage treatment across the News Corp press.
One Labor Senator to call out the violence is Fatima Payman, who declared this morning that while the world has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is now watching on “as the state of Israel deprives the entire population – men, women and children – of the basic necessities of life. We must condemn it.”
She has broken away from her party to make the comments. She is a backbencher in her first term in Parliament and an Afghan-born Muslim. She is also one of the youngest members of Parliament.
“The price tag of Israel’s right to defend itself cannot be the destruction of Palestine. Israel’s right to defend its civilians cannot equate to the annihilation of Palestinian civilians,” Senator Payman said Wednesday morning.
She will likely face significant backlash and attacks across social media and the mainstream press in the coming days. If Labor doesn’t say something more to call out the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza — and regardless of who is responsible for this hospital bombing — it must at least ensure it backs and supports Senator Payman. The party fought for and has celebrated the diversity of voices and legislators brought into the 45th Parliament.
The death toll from today’s hospital bombing will rise. There will be further air strikes and so called “failed” rocket launches. There will be hunger and disease, and further suffering due to the lack of humanitarian aid getting through. There will be more devastating vision and pictures of destroyed buildings, and women taking to town squares in tears to declare “enough”. The question is, at what point will Australia’s political leaders declare enough?