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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared that Israel has the right to defend itself after a “despicable” attack by Hamas militants on Saturday.
Speaking to the ABC after being criticized by the opposition for a “delayed response”, Mr Albanese said the attack was unprecedented.
“It is indiscriminate. Civilians are being targeted, killed and assassinated, as well as many of them being taken hostage,” he told insiders.
“Of course, people are worried about escalating tensions, but Israel has the right to defend itself, and it will do so.
“This is an attack by Hamas on Israel that has no precedent.”
Mr Albanese said Saturday had been a “very bad 24 hours” for Israelis.
“This is a despicable attack on Israel. This is a terrible situation that people didn’t see coming,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s comments came after Foreign Minister Penny Wong appealed to Israel to act with “restraint” in the wake of the unprecedented attack by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The coalition says Israel has “every right” to defend itself, although opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham called for “all parties” to work together to protect innocent lives and end the violence. requested.
Australia’s highest national representative body of the Jewish community says calls for de-escalation by “both sides” are “a misconception and only play into the hands of terrorists”.
The Coalition hit out at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for his delayed response to the incidents.
Hamas, recognized as a terrorist organization by Australia, fired thousands of rockets at Israel on Saturday, surprising the country celebrating the religious holiday.
Armed terrorists infiltrated towns, killing, injuring and abducting civilians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war, vowing that his country would exact an “unprecedented price” for one of the deadliest attacks.
Israel responded by calling in reservists and launching airstrikes on Gaza, destroying many residential buildings.
World leaders and diplomats, including Senator Wong, immediately condemned the Palestinian attack.
“Australia unequivocally condemns attacks on Israel by Hamas, including indiscriminate rocket attacks on cities and civilians,” he wrote on X – formerly known as Twitter.
“We call for a halt to these attacks and recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself.
“Australia urges restraint and protection of civilian life.”
But it was the last few words of Senator Wong’s statement that drew the ire of opposition shadow frontbencher Michael Sukkar.
“Unbelievable, restraint? Israel has every right to defend itself with any force,” he said.
In his own statement, Senator Birmingham strongly condemned the actions of Hamas and “urged all parties to work to protect innocent lives and end the violence”.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said it was “yet another example of deliberate violence intended to cause maximum harm to innocent civilians”.
“The attack is a provocation. Israel has the full right to defend itself in response and to prevent future attacks and other acts of aggression, coercion and interference,” he said.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said that acts targeting civilians are a “serious war crime” and “an armed attack against a sovereign State”.
Chief Executive Alex Rivchin said, “We expect the State of Israel to take all necessary measures to defend itself and to defeat the terrorist forces of Hamas and restore peace for the citizens of Israel.”
“We call on the Australian Government to condemn these serious crimes without reservation. Any call for de-escalation by “both sides” or attempt to draw parallels between the crimes of a terrorist organization and the defensive measures of a sovereign and democratic state is wrong and only plays into the hands of terrorists.
Deputy Liberal leader Susan Ley immediately called out Mr Albanese for his delayed response.
“It actually took them until 6am this morning to make a public statement about this. As a world leader you don’t get nights off and around the world, we have seen the immediate reaction from world leaders… and it took until this morning for Anthony Albanese to make this statement. I think he needs to be questioned about this today,” he told Sky News.
“I am questioning his timing…you don’t get time off.”
Israeli media has reported the death of about 250 people and injuries of more than 1500 people in the Palestinian attack. Israel’s response left at least 232 people dead and about 1,700 injured in Gaza.
Former Liberal MP and Australian ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma said on Sunday that the attack was “undoubtedly unprecedented”, made worse by the failure of Israeli intelligence to identify the threat.
“As recently as last month, the Israeli security establishment was declaring the situation there relatively stable. They had no warning,” Mr Sharma told Sky News.
“It took them several hours to actually detect this intrusion and then respond. So there will be a lot of analysis and reflection required about what went wrong.”
