Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to call on the Senate to support peace for Palestinians and Israelis, and, with approximately 10,000 Palestinian deaths and over 1,400 Israeli deaths, we ask the Australian government to call for an immediate ceasefire to end the humanitarian catastrophe occurring in Gaza; for the unconditional release of all hostages; and for an urgent end to the siege on Gaza.

The invasion of Gaza is a humanitarian disaster and catastrophe. The Greens condemn the war crimes of Hamas and the invasion of Gaza. More than 10,000 Palestinians have died, and lasting peace is now further out of reach. We grieve with those who have lost loved ones, and we must all work now to stop further bloodshed.

Instead of backing the invasion, Australia should be part of an international push for peace and de-escalation, which means an immediate ceasefire, an end to the invasion of Gaza and holding to account those who have committed war crimes.

People around Australia and around the world are taking to the streets to call for an end to the invasion and occupation. They gather united by a single call: 'Ceasefire now.' They remind their governments that children should never be killed in war and that cutting access to food, water and medicine are war crimes. I ask the Albanese government: why can't you join these calls for a ceasefire? How many children must die or be wounded, how many refugee camps or ambulance convoys bombed, how many apartment blocks reduced to rubble before you can say the word 'ceasefire'? Every moment we delay calling for a ceasefire costs lives. Nothing can justify the violence that we've seen. The Greens will continue to call for a ceasefire now and for a lasting and just peace.