The Voices for Gaza vigil continues outside the parliament.
Organised by Action Aid Australia, Amnesty International Australia, Caritas, ChildFund Australia, MAA International, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oxfam Australia, Plan International Australia, Save the Children Australia, the vigil has seen people read out the names of the 17,000 children killed by Israel in Gaza.
That was the full list before all health and civil infrastructure collapsed in Gaza. The list would be much longer now.
People read names in the pouring rain last night and continued this morning. They will keep going until the book is completed. It is hard going, but necessary.
Australia has signed up to the statement calling for an immediate end to Israel’s slaughter, but Australia also still sends weapon parts that end up in planes and weapons being used to kill Palestinian civilians. Australia has not sanctioned Israel, it maintains diplomatic relations, and while the language has become stronger, it is still not clear.
The Coalition meanwhile sees anything other than full throated support for Israel’s genocidal acts in Gaza as an attack on Israel.
2 Comments
The language may be stronger but it's still failing to state the truth. "Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid"? Meagre amounts of food is not 'aid'. And killed by whom? Israel is using food as bait to lure starving Gazans into killing zones.
So thankful for the people on the lawns at Parliament demanding that government take action to protect lives and free Palestine. I hope they know that they are representing the voices of millions more Australians who want an end to genocide.