The prime minister has labelled the conflict in Gaza a “humanitarian catastrophe”, while reaffirming an existing commitment to a two-state solution.
France has announced it will formally recognise Palestine later this year, becoming the largest and most influential European nation to do so.
In some of his strongest language on the conflict yet, Anthony Albanese said the conflict has gone “beyond the world’s worst fears”.
“Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel’s denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children, seeking access to water and food, cannot be defended or ignored,” he said.
“We call on Israel to comply immediately with its obligations under international law.”
The UN says thousands of aid trucks are unable to enter Gaza. (AP: Jehad Alshrafi)
It follows Australia joining 27 other countries in a joint statement earlier this week demanding an immediate end to the war.
Israel labelled those joint calls “disconnected from reality”, arguing the attention of those countries should be focused on the actions of Hamas.
Australia does not recognise a Palestinian state, instead referring officially to the West Bank and Gaza as the “Occupied Palestinian Territories”, though it does have diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority.
The new comments from Mr Albanese do not refer directly to France’s moves to recognise Palestine, but point to Australia’s long-standing ambitions around recognition.
“Recognising the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a state of their own has long been a bipartisan position in Australia,” he said.
“The reason a two-state solution remains the goal of the international community is because a just and lasting peace depends upon it.
“Australia is committed to a future where both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples can live in peace and safety, within secure and internationally recognised borders.”
In response, Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, said pressure “must be placed where it belongs, on Hamas”.
“To condemn Israel for defending itself is wrong,” he said on X.
“It deflects attention from the real perpetrators of this horror: Hamas.”
Last year, Foreign Minister Penny Wong indicated Australia was considering recognising a Palestinian state as part of a peace process, rather than at the endpoint.
More than 140 countries globally currently recognise Palestine, however, the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia are not among them.
France will become the first G7 country — a powerful bloc of some of the world’s most advanced economies — to do so.
The Coalition has criticised the prime minister’s statement, with Shadow Foreign Minister Michaelia Cash arguing it disregards Hamas’s responsibility for the conflict.
“It is disappointing that Prime Minister Albanese’s statement about Gaza once again fails to place any blame on Hamas, a listed terrorist organisation, for the delays in aid reaching the people of Gaza,” she said.
“Any moral outrage about the situation in Gaza should be directed at Hamas. Hamas and its allies have tried to disrupt the flow of aid into Gaza and have stolen humanitarian aid for their own purposes.”
Hamas has denied these allegations.
But Senator Cash said Israel must also work to get more aid into Gaza.
“The Coalition acknowledges that the delay in aid entering Gaza is unacceptable and that the Israeli government needs to urgently work with international bodies to allow aid to flow freely to those that need it,” she said.
“However, the right system must be in place so that it can be distributed without Hamas intervening in the process.”