Israel ‘needs to listen’ to international community, Albanese says as Wong calls for Lebanon and Gaza ceasefires
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has urged his Israeli counterpart to “listen to the international community” amid fears of an escalating conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, also declared that the world “cannot allow any party to obstruct” peace in the Middle East as she pressed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
Speaking hours after the Israeli government rejected growing international calls to agree to a three-week ceasefire with Hezbollah, Albanese had a sharp message for Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I say to prime minister Netanyahu that he needs to listen to the international community, just like the other players in that region need to listen to the international community,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
“The calls are very clear when you have the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, other nations all calling for a de-escalation of this conflict.”
In New York, Wong addressed the UN security council and emphasised the urgent need for “de-escalation” and “dialogue”.
“Hezbollah are terrorists that have not complied with security council resolution 1701, but Lebanese civilians should not pay the price,” Wong said.
“Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza. Just as in Gaza, Australia calls for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.”
Related: ‘People feel helpless’: Lebanese Australians watch Israel’s bombardment in horror
In a pointed message to Israel, Wong said: “War has rules – even when confronting terrorists; even when defending borders.”
Wong said 1,200 Israelis had been killed in the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October last year, representing “the worst loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust”, and the group continued to hold hostages.
“In Israel’s response, over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed – more than 11,000 children. And more than 300 aid workers since this war began.”
After reiterating that “the world demands a ceasefire in Gaza”, Wong said hostages must be released, aid must flow and “this humanitarian catastrophe must end”.
She also repeated the Australian government’s position that a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel was “the only hope to finally break the endless cycle of violence – for a secure, prosperous future for Palestinians and Israelis”.
“The international community – including this security council – must work together to pave a path to lasting peace,” Wong said. “We cannot wait for the parties to do this themselves; we cannot allow any party to obstruct the prospect of peace.”
She did not elaborate on which parties she believed were obstructing peace and there is no sign that Australia is about to recognise Palestine unilaterally.
For months the Australian government has been swapping notes with other countries about how to build momentum for a two-state solution, and has said recognition of Palestinian statehood need not wait until the end of a peace process.
Palestine is already recognised as a state by more than 140 UN member states, including Spain, Norway and Ireland, which each took the step in May this year.
The Albanese government rebuffed calls from the Greens to immediately follow suit at the time, a delay that culminated in the former Labor senator Fatima Payman’s defection to the crossbench.
In a separate ministerial meeting in New York, Wong said “individual country actions alone” were “not moving the dial” so a more coordinated effort may be needed.
“[That] is why Australia wants to engage on new ways to break the cycle, including the role of the UN security council in setting a pathway for two-states, with a clear timeline for the international declaration of Palestinian statehood,” Wong said.
Wong made broader comments about “widespread” civilian suffering around the world, including in Sudan, where tens of thousands of people had died and more than 700,000 children faced severe or acute malnutrition.
She said civilians in Ukraine continued to suffer “because of Russia’s senseless invasion”.
“President [Vladimir] Putin’s use of the veto to protect his own illegal actions is the act of a coward,” Wong told the security council, with the Russian representative watching on and taking notes.
Wong called for reforms to the UN security council to “meet the challenges of today”, including ensuring “greater permanent and non-permanent representation for Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Asia-Pacific”.
Australia is not a security council member at present but was contributing to an open debate on the maintenance of international peace and security. It is seeking a non-permanent seat on the UN security council for 2029-30.
The opposition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Simon Birmingham, urged Israel “to engage with their closest partners especially the US government” to prevent regional escalation.
He told Sky News: “I heard the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations this morning being clear that they don’t wish to see an all-out war or all-out conflict. And if their desire is to avert that, then that requires engagement to try to find diplomatic solutions.”
