Extract from ABC News
In short:
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has condemned comments by a senior Israeli minister suggesting it may be justified to starve Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was attending a conference in support of Jewish settlements when he made the statement.
What's next?
Talks continue over a proposed ceasefire and hostage agreement, with the White House urging Israel and Hamas to reach a deal.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has condemned comments by a senior Israeli minister after he suggested it "might be just and moral" to starve Palestinians in Gaza until hostages held by Hamas are returned.
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made the statement at a conference in support of Jewish settlements on Monday, saying the country had no choice but to send humanitarian aid to Gaza.
"It's not possible in today's global reality to manage a war — no one will allow us to starve two million people, even though that might be just and moral until they return the hostages," he said in a speech.
In a post to social media platform X on Saturday, Ms Wong said Australia joins international partners, including the UK, Germany and France, in condemning Mr Smotrich's comments.
"The deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime," she wrote.
"There is no justification for it, ever.
"An immediate ceasefire in Gaza has never been more urgent, to protect civilians, see hostages released, and enable aid to flow.
"We repeat our call on all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire."
Mr Smotrich, who is a key partner in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, supports the reoccupation of Gaza, the rebuilding of Jewish settlements that were removed in 2005, and what he describes as the voluntary migration of large numbers of Palestinians out of the territory.
The European Union on Wednesday condemned his remarks, also noting that deliberately starving civilians is a war crime.
European Union Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said the remarks demonstrated Mr Smotrich's "contempt for international law and for basic principles of humanity".
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said there can be "no justification" for Mr Smotrich's remarks.
"We expect the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn them," he wrote in a post on X.
The US also rebuked Mr Smotrich, with national security adviser John Kirby telling reporters on Friday the Israeli minister's criticism of the latest proposed cease-fire deal is "dead wrong".
"Smotrich essentially suggests that the war ought to go on indefinitely without pause and with the lives of the hostages of no real concern at all," Mr Kirby said.
Smotrich voiced opposition to the deal and said the terms would amount to an Israeli surrender.
"The views expressed by Mr Smotrich would in fact sacrifice the lives of Israeli hostages, his own countrymen, and American hostages as well," Mr Kirby said.
The ongoing war sparked by Hamas' attack has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian catastrophe.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises, said in June that Gaza was at "high risk" of famine.
Aid organisations say efforts to deliver food and other assistance have been hindered by Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order.
Israel says it allows unlimited humanitarian aid to enter and blames UN agencies for failing to promptly deliver it.
ABC with AP
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