For some reason, even after two leading Israeli human rights groups concluded, themselves, that Israel was committing genocidal acts in Gaza, after the world’s leading humanitarian and international law groups concluded the same months ago, and even after all the on-the-ground reporting we have seen from Palestinian journalists over the last 22 months, the ABC is STILL leading on Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar claiming Anthony Albanese is ‘lying’ about Israel withholding aid from Palestinians in Gaza.

Anyone who chooses to look can see that Israel has been withholding aid from Gaza, which includes medical supplies and baby formula and has been from the beginning – it has just now hit the point that we have been warned about for months and months – irreversible stage five malnutrition.

And the first people who die in a famine are children and the elderly, who do not have the same reserves as adults.

There is no reason to lead on that story at this point of time. Of course it should be reported as part of the response, but the response in this case should not be THE story. Not when we know what is happening.

If we are actually reaching a point where even the UK (even if it is in the most cooked way possible) is now saying it will recognise Palestine as a state in September if Israel doesn’t agree to a ceasefire (which is an implicit admission that it is not, as many have claimed, Hamas who have been holding up negotiations) and there is a push coming from Westminister to have more aid and supplies immediately enter Gaza, than surely the dial has shifted enough where Australian media outlets can start reporting on what is happening in a way that does not centre Israel.