Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has condemned attacks by Hamas against Israel, describing the conflict as “abhorrent”.
The Palestinian militant group, which rules the Gaza Strip and has been classified as a terrorist organisation by Australia since 2001, launched a multi-front attack on Israel on Saturday that included missile strikes and fighter incursions.
Israeli media reported at least 200 Israelis were killed while Gazan health officials said more than 230 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s retaliatory air strikes on Gaza City.
Mr Albanese said the government stood with Israel in the wake of the attacks.
“Australia stands with our friend Israel in this time. We condemn the indiscriminate and abhorrent attacks by Hamas on Israel, its cities and civilians,” he wrote on the social media platform X.
“We recognise Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong called for the attacks to stop and said Australia recognised Israel’s right to defend the country.
“Australia unequivocally condemns the attacks on Israel by Hamas including indiscriminate rocket fire on cities & civilians,” Senator Wong said on X.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the coalition “utterly condemns the unprovoked and abhorrent attack by militant Hamas on Israel.
“It is yet another example of a deliberate act of violence intended to inflict maximum harm on innocent civilians,” he said.
“The attack is a provocation. Israel has every right to defend itself in response and to deter future attacks and other acts of aggression, coercion and interference”.
Former Australian ambassador to Israel and Liberal MP Dave Sharma said the attacks by Hamas were “unprecedented”.
“We’ve never seen anything like this from Hamas before in its aggression against Israel,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“There will need to be a lot of analysis and reflection there about what has gone wrong there, because obviously this has always been an active military front for Israel.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s military would retaliate.
“We are in a war and we will win it,” he said.
Hamas said the attack was driven by what it said were Israel’s escalated attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem and against Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
Hamas commander Mohammad Deif said it was “the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth” as residents of Gaza rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of conflict ahead.
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council said in a statement it rejected the claims of Hamas that the attack was related to the desecration of the al-Aqsa Mosque, describing this as a “feeble pretext”.
“The real reason is far more likely to be Hamas’ concern at progress being made in peace talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein said.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry had called on the Australian government to condemn the attacks against Israel.
“Any calls for de-escalation by ‘both sides’ or attempts to draw equivalences between the crimes of a terrorist organisation and the defensive measures of a sovereign and democratic state are misconceived and only play into the hands of the terrorists,” it said.
The Zionist Federation of Australia called it “an appalling, unprovoked attack that breaches all norms,” accusing Hamas of “shooting civilians in cold blood in their homes”.
with Reuters
By Andrew Brown in Canberra
