Dear Minister,

Responding to war crimes committed against the Palestinian people

Congratulations on Labor’s achievement of another term of government. We hope this term will be one in which everything possible is done to promote, support and invest in peace, without which Australians - and others - cannot be secure.

Genocide in Palestine continues to stand as one of the most urgent challenges to peace, international law, and human morality today. In over 19 months, diplomatic mechanisms have failed to prevent, or to punish widespread and systematic violations of international law, for which the people of Gaza have paid an unimaginable price.

We are writing again to you today to urge you to reset your strategy on Palestine, use all the tools at your disposal to protect civilians in Gaza, and restore meaning to Australia’s stated commitment to international law.

This is especially imperative today, as Israel has publicly announced its intention to commit further war crimes and violations of international law:

• After comprehensively blocking aid since March 2025 — a crime in itself — Israel has announced plans to deliver humanitarian supplies through military hubs. The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs has described this as “using aid as a bait” and emphasised that the proposal endangers civilian lives and undermines the principles of impartial and independent humanitarian aid.
• The Israeli cabinet recently approved plans to capture Gaza militarily and occupy it. These plans are in direct violation of the July 2024 ruling from the International Court of Justice that Israel’s occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory was illegal and must end “as rapidly as possible”. This plan also entails the war crime of unlawful transfer of civilians.

The ICJ ruled in July 2024 that “all States are under an obligation …..not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. This obligation exists regardless of individual States’ perception of their ability to make an impact.

Australia, however, has continued to aid and assist both Israel’s occupation and its assault on Gaza, by maintaining a close political relationship, a trade and defence office in Jerusalem, and approving dozens of active permits for the export of lethal military equipment to Israel. Even in recent months, we’ve seen announcements of agreements involving Israeli weapons companies Rafael and ESC BAZ.

Australia has failed to take decisive actions to prevent further atrocities, as is required by international law and basic human morals. There have been no measures taken that are remotely comparable to those taken against Russia for its invasion and brutality in Ukraine.

The Medical Association for Prevention of War calls on you to:

• Strongly and publicly reject Israeli plans for forced displacement and militarised aid delivery, and demand that UNRWA and other existing aid agencies within Gaza receive full protection and access to safely provide aid for the people there.
• Endorse and actively support efforts to reopen humanitarian corridors for medical evacuations from Gaza to the East Jerusalem hospital network with clear, timely, and non-arbitrary coordination mechanisms.
• Cease all political, military, and economic ties with Israel.
• Publicly affirm full support for the International Criminal Court and its arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders for their respective crimes.
• Work with other nations to ensure accountability for all those — Israeli and Palestinian — who have committed war crimes. Impunity for the crime of attacking health facilities and workers has particularly grave implications for healthcare in war zones anywhere.
• Publicly support calls for Palestinian self-determination and engage with frameworks that ensure justice and equity for all.

A group of more than 30 United Nations experts has called the catastrophe in Gaza “one of the most ostentatious and merciless manifestations of the desecration of human life and dignity". They called not for more words but for “enforceable action to immediately end the carnage and ensure accountability for perpetrators".

History will record what action you take on behalf of Australia in response to what the UN experts, and many others, call an “unfolding genocide”.

Sincerely,

Dr Sue Wareham OAM

President, Medical Association for Prevention of War

sue.wareham@mapw.org.au

Website: here

This letter was sent to Foreign Minister Penny Wong by email on 14 May. It was copied to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.