The prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand have declared that a ceasefire in Gaza is “needed desperately” and urged Israel to “listen to the concerns of the international community”.
In a strongly worded joint statement issued on Friday, the three leaders said they were “gravely concerned about the prospect of further escalation across the region”, including between Hezbollah and Israel.
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, joined with Justin Trudeau of Canada and Christopher Luxon of New Zealand to warn that further hostilities would “put tens of thousands of civilians in Lebanon and Israel at risk”.
They said an escalation of conflict across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon would have “disastrous consequences” for both countries, and that “only makes a ceasefire in Gaza more urgent”.
Friday’s statement urged “all involved actors to exercise restraint and de-escalate”.
It also included some strong language directed at Israel in the wake of last week’s international court of justice ruling that the continued occupation of territory Israel seized in 1967, including the West Bank, was illegal under international law.
“We call on Israel to respond substantively to the ICJ’s advisory opinion, and ensure accountability for ongoing acts of violence against Palestinians by extremist settlers, reverse the record expansion of settlements in the West Bank which are illegal under international law, and work towards a two-state solution,” the three prime ministers said.
To date, the Israeli government has labelled the ICJ ruling as “not legally binding” and “blatantly one-sided”.
Friday’s statement reflects shared concerns among Australia, Canada and New Zealand regarding the toll of the war in Gaza and the risk of escalation across the Middle East.
These countries are all members of the Five Eyes western intelligence alliance, along with the US and the UK.
It was the third time the prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand have issued a joint statement about developments in the Middle East.
In December, the same leaders pressed for “a sustainable ceasefire”. In February, they spoke out against the prospect of an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza.
The new statement on Friday described the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and said the human suffering was “unacceptable” and “cannot continue”.
The three prime ministers said they remained “unequivocal in our condemnation of Hamas for the atrocities of October 7 and ongoing acts of terror”, urging the group to “lay down its arms and release all hostages”.
The prime ministers said Israel “must listen to the concerns of the international community”, noting that the protection of civilians was “paramount and a requirement under international humanitarian law”.
“Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas. It must end,” the statement said.
The prime ministers said they stood fully behind “the comprehensive ceasefire deal” that was outlined by the US president, Joe Biden, in late May and subsequently endorsed by the UN security council.
They called on all parties “to agree to the deal” and warned that any delay in securing a ceasefire would “only see more lives lost”.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, heard a similar message from the US vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, in Washington on Thursday.
Albanese, Trudeau and Luxon reiterated that they were “committed to working towards an irreversible path to achieving a two-state solution, where Israelis and Palestinians can live securely within internationally recognised borders”.
“This is the only realistic option to achieve a just and enduring peace,” they said.
The president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Jeremy Leibler, criticised the statement. He said any attempt to pressure Israel “to end the war unilaterally only serves to embolden Hamas and prolong the war”.
But the leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt, said the government must take action beyond issuing statements calling for a ceasefire deal.
Bandt called on the Australian government to impose sanctions on the Israeli government “as Netanyahu sees no consequences and the slaughter continues”.
