Thursday, 15 May 2025

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (09:37): I move, by leave:

That this house:

(1)   notes that:

(a) since the ceasefire in Gaza ended on 25 March 2025, more than 2.1 million people are again trapped, bombed and starved, while at crossing points food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies and equipment are piling up, stuck in a blockade of aid;

(b) according to the Ministry of Health, 2545 people have been killed and 6856 injured since the escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025;

(c) Gaza’s medical system is at breaking point, overwhelmed by traumatic injuries, damaged infrastructure and severe shortages of nurses, doctors, specialists, supplies and equipment;

(d) as reported by UNICEF, access to food and drinking water is diminishing, malnutrition and diseases are spreading and vaccines are running low, with 75 per cent of households reporting deteriorating access to water over the past month, and acute watery diarrhoea – often fatal – now accounts for a quarter of disease cases reported in Gaza;

(e) the heads of UN agencies, including the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the World Food Programme, recently issued a statement which said, ‘We are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life. New Israeli displacement orders have forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee yet again, with no safe place to go. No-one is safe.’

(2)   does not support the State of Israel’s continued invasion of Gaza; and

(3)   supports calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Leave refused.