Oxfam Australia welcomes the Australian Government's announcement of an additional $20 million in humanitarian assistance for Gaza, but warns it falls far short of what is needed as the threat of mass starvation intensifies and spreads across Gaza.
Oxfam Australia Interim Chief Executive Dr Chrisanta Muli said:
"This announcement of additional funding in humanitarian assistance is welcome and urgently needed. But the reality on the ground is catastrophic - and the crisis in Gaza is worsening by the day. This commitment is not enough to meet the spiraling humanitarian need or halt the spread of mass starvation. Palestinians in Gaza are on the brink, and the worst-case scenario of famine is already unfolding.
"Oxfam is supporting local partner organisations who are struggling to deliver life-saving aid. A full-scale humanitarian response remains impossible while violations of international law continue, and access remains obstructed.
"The hundreds of thousands of people who marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge yesterday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza show just how deeply Australians care about this issue."
Oxfam Australia calls on the Australian Government to:
- Apply full diplomatic pressure to restore principled, safe, unimpeded, and sustained humanitarian access across Gaza. This must include a return to a UN-led coordination mechanism grounded in humanitarian principles and international law.
- Publicly and explicitly denounce Israel's ongoing breaches of international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
- Stop all direct and indirect sales of Australian-made or designed weapons to Israel.
