We, the undersigned Australian civil society and community organisations, call on the Australian Government to publicly commit to joining a diplomatic humanitarian convoy to accompany aid trucks into Gaza via the Rafah Crossing and Let Gaza Live.
Download the statement or read the full statement below
We, the undersigned Australian civil society and community organisations, call on the Australian Government to publicly commit to joining a diplomatic humanitarian convoy to accompany aid trucks into Gaza via the Rafah Crossing and Let Gaza Live.
The decision by Israeli authorities to temporarily allow limited humanitarian aid into Gaza is not a breakthrough — it is a damning admission that the deliberate starvation of civilians has never been a logistical failure, but a political weapon.
For months, the Israeli government has blocked the entry of food, medicine, water, and fuel into Gaza, manufacturing a crisis of mass hunger and human suffering in full view of the international community. This week’s announcement — that some aid trucks may be permitted to enter over a narrow five-day window — is not a shift in policy, but a public relations exercise designed to deflect from the ongoing siege and growing international pressure.
This is not aid. This is coercion. Humanitarian assistance must never be conditional on forced displacement, military vetting, or the political aims of occupying powers. To continue participating in or legitimising such frameworks is to become complicit in collective punishment and ethnic cleansing.
We echo the unified call from Palestinian civil society organisations, joined by humanitarian and human rights organisations worldwide, for the urgent launch of a diplomatic humanitarian convoy, to accompany the aid trucks already waiting at the Rafah Crossing. Aid must flow unconditionally, immediately, and across all of Gaza, including the North, where needs are catastrophic, in line with humanitarian principles and international law — not Israeli military control.
In light of mounting evidence of war crimes and the weaponisation of aid, we call on the Australian Government to urgently impose targeted sanctions on
Israeli officials responsible for grave violations of international law — Words of concern are no longer enough.
We also call on the Australian Government to:
- Support the call for an end for the illegal blockade and illegal siege on Gaza;
- Comply with its third state obligations, including its obligations under the Genocide Convention and the provisional orders and Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice;
- Publicly support the ICC investigations into crimes committed in illegally occupied Palestinian territory;
- Take steps to ensure Australia is not complicit through arms transfers, surveillance technologies, or dual-use exports.
This moment demands courage. Inaction will lead to mass death by starvation, enable further grave violations, and undermine the international legal system. We are calling on you today to: Let Gaza Live. End the Starvation. End the Siege. Open the Crossings. Join the Diplomatic Humanitarian Convoy.
SIGNATORIES
Initial Signatories:
Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ)
MAA International
Amnesty International Australia
ActionAid Australia
Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN)
Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA
Islamic Relief Australia
Democracy In Colour
Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association (PANZMA)
Additional Signatories:
Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN)
Arab Australian Federation
Arab Council Australia
Arab Theatre Studio, on Dharug Country
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Bass Coast 4 Palestine
Blue Mountains Peace Collective
Canberra Palestinian Community CPC
Canberra Palestine and Climate Justice
Celebrate Palestine South West
Christians for Peace Newcastle
Free Palestine Melbourne
Friends of the Eart Australia
Hunar Symposia
Independent and Peaceful Australia Network
Italian Federation of Migrant Workers and their families, FILEF.
Jewish Council of Australia
Jews Against the Occupation ’48
Jubilee Australia Research Centre
Just Peace Qld
Loud Jew Collective
Marrickville Peace Group
Medical Association for Prevention of War
National Zakat Foundation
Northern Beaches Committee for Palestine
Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network (PIEN)
Palestinian Workers Union
Quakers Australia
Queensland Quakers
Spirit of Eureka – South Australia
United Australian Palestinian Workers
we are the mainstream.