There are currently no Australian casualties from the Israel-Hamas war, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Oct. 10.
Mr. Marles said, “At this point, we’ve not had any reports of any Australians being killed or being hospitalised,” adding he would not reveal individual case information, in an interview with Sunrise.
He said the government was assessing the 10,000 Australians living in Israel and the more significant number of tourists there, including a missing Australian woman, with authorities fearing terror group Hamas could have taken her.
“At this moment, we are thinking of the people of Israel. This has been an act of terror and should be seen in those terms. There is nothing that justifies the murdering of innocent people, which is what we have been witnessing,” Mr. Marles said.
Further, when asked if Australia would send military support, Mr. Marles said, “We’ve not been asked that by Israel, and there’s no talk of any of that kind of support. I’d be shocked if that occurred.”
He said the country “wept” for over 700 people who lost their lives and “our thoughts are with the thousands who have been injured” at the “United with Israel” community gathering in Caulfield Shule in Melbourne on Oct. 9
“We do condemn Hamas in the strongest possible terms. Theirs is an ideology of terror, and these are acts of the most profound evil,” he added.
Hamas militants entered south Israeli territory early Saturday morning, fired thousands of rockets, gunned down civilians, and held at least 100 people hostage.
On the third day of the war, Israeli authorities were still finding bodies with the death toll rising to nearly 1,600 on both sides. About 680 Palestinians were killed in counterattack strikes, and the Israeli death toll is over 900, according to authorities.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas’s “military and governing capabilities.”
In Gaza, thousands of people evacuated during airstrikes, Israeli tanks, and drones were deployed, and the military summoned 300,000 reservists.
The Israeli military said it had primarily gained control in the south, but Hamas said they held over 130 soldiers and civilians hostage.
“We fervently pray for those who find themselves now in the unspeakable position of being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza,” Mr. Marles said.
Fears for Jewish Australians
Foreign Minister Penny Wong called for hostages to be returned in an ABC Radio Adelaide interview on Oct. 10, while calling for respectful discourse.“I saw antisemitism being expressed, which is antithetical to who we are as a country. All prejudice and discrimination should be rightly condemned,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Wong wrote on X, formally known as Twitter, to say, “Australia urges the exercise of restraint and protection of civilian lives,” on Oct. 7.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt was on board with condemnation of the “horrific attacks on civilians,” calling for the Palestine “occupation” to end on Oct. 10.
“It’s time for a just and lasting peace,” he wrote on X.
Further, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton urged a formal National Security Committee meeting because the threat to people of Jewish faith in Australia was “very real.”
He said it was “remarkable” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had not held one to discuss “these very important matters and the domestic threat level.”
Security for Jewish and Israeli Australians in Australia does not need to be increased, assured the prime minister.
However, Mr. Dutton said, “Stories are coming out of Jewish communities where they’re telling kids not to wear school uniforms in public.”
‘No Excuse’ for Opera House Rally
Meanwhile, the Palestine Action Group (PAG), which organised a rally in Sydney calling for Australia to cut ties with Israel on Oct.9, said it would “not bow to pressure from parliamentarians to end our mobilisations.”The move was widely condemned with Opposition Leader Dutton saying there was “no excuse for this sort of behaviour or conduct.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns, independent MP Allegra Spender, and Ms. Wong condemned the protests, while questioning why it went ahead.
The PAG responded, “Let us affirm; we have the right to demonstrate.”
“At a conjuncture where anti-protest laws widen to target anyone who opposes the colonial and capitalist structures of this state from First Nations movements to the climate justice movement, the state’s attack on Pro-Palestinian protestors is no different,” its statement said.
In response, Mr. Dutton said Australians did not want “protesters gathering in New Zealand or another part of the world, cheering and chanting” if a terrorist attack happened in their country, adding peaceful protests were a “right,” but the behaviour on display at the Opera House did “not belong in our country.”
Activist and academic Fahad Ali, who organised and spoke at the rally, said he “intervened to shut down antisemitic chants from a group who were in the minority.”
“Antisemitism has no place in our movement,” he said.
