The Albanese government wants the Gaza war to end now. So do most Israelis
Australia and 27 other countries this week signed a joint statement arguing that 'the war in Gaza must end now' and condemning the Netanyahu government's aid delivery model. Israel's foreign ministry and ambassador to Australia criticised the statement, as did the Coalition and local pro-Israel groups.
'All statements and all claims should be directed at the only party responsible for the lack of a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire: Hamas, which started this war and is prolonging it,' the Israeli foreign ministry said.
In Israel itself, however, the idea that the war has gone on for far too long is utterly mainstream. As is the idea that the Netanyahu government bears at least partial responsibility for the failure to bring it to an end.
A poll last week released this month by Israel's highest-rating television network, Channel 12, found that three quarters of Israelis want the war to end in exchange for a deal that would release all the remaining hostages at once. This included 60 per cent of people who voted for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative coalition. A majority of Israeli voters said that Netanyahu's handling of the war has been bad, and 49 per cent believe he is resisting a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal for political reasons.
These findings reflect repeated polls over many months showing most Israelis are fed up with the war in Gaza. Similarly, during a reporting trip to Israel last month, photographer Kate Geraghty and I found a pervasive fatigue with the war and an overwhelming desire to secure a hostage release deal. 'Finish it, it's enough,' car salesman and passionate Netanyahu supporter Ronen Sha'a Shua told us, reflecting a common sentiment. 'We can't move on until our hostages come back.'
Loading
Asked about the joint statement signed by Australia, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the 'most important' thing was rescuing the 50 hostages that remain in Gaza, of whom around 20 are believed to be alive.
Most Israelis agree. Crucially, though, they believe that the war is hindering rather than helping secure the release of the hostages. The most passionate Israeli advocates for ending the war are the family members of the remaining hostages in Gaza. Many of these relatives are also fierce critics of Netanyahu, whom they believe has made the release of their loved ones a low priority and has continued the war to placate the far-right members of his governing coalition. Convinced that lobbying the Netanyahu government is an almost futile effort, many have turned to pleading with US President Donald Trump to secure the release of the hostages.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

News.com.au
20 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Taiwan's opposition protests ahead of recall vote
Taiwan's main opposition will protest on Friday, the eve of unprecedented recall elections targeting its lawmakers that could tip the balance of power to President Lai Ching-te's ruling party. Supporters of Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are seeking to unseat 31 Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers who they accuse of being pro-China and a threat to national security. The KMT, which advocates closer ties with Beijing, controls parliament with the help of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and has slammed the recall effort as undermining the self-ruled island's democracy. Two dozen KMT lawmakers could lose their seats on Saturday in a legal process that allows the public to oust elected officials before the end of their term. Another seven face recall elections on August 23. The DPP needs a minimum of 12 KMT lawmakers to be recalled to give it a "temporary functional majority" in parliament, political analyst Wen-Ti Sung told AFP. It would then need to flip six seats in by-elections later this year to secure control of the 113-seat legislature. Started by civic groups this year, the recall campaigns have dominated Taiwanese politics, newspaper headlines and social media feeds for months. The DPP lost its parliamentary majority in the 2024 elections that swept Lai, who is detested by Beijing, to the presidency. Since then, the KMT and TPP have joined forces to stymie Lai's agenda and cut the government's budget. A series of opposition bills, including reforms expanding parliament's powers and freezing the constitutional court, sparked brawls in the legislature and massive street protests last year. - 'Unprecedented' - The scale of the recall campaign was "unprecedented" in Taiwan, Dafydd Fell, an expert on Taiwan politics at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, told AFP. It reflected the "strengths of Taiwanese civil society, which has responded to what it perceives as a serious threat to Taiwan's democracy and sovereignty," he said. For a KMT lawmaker to lose their seat, the number of votes in favour of recalling them must exceed those against and also be more than 25 percent of the total number of registered voters in the electorate. A KMT bid to have 15 DPP lawmakers recalled failed. With turnout critical, DPP supporters have been standing outside subway stations, in public parks and at food markets for weeks urging people to vote "yes". Thousands of people gathered in the rain near the Presidential Office Building on Thursday night in a show of support for the recalls. KMT legislators fighting for their political lives have also taken to the streets to persuade voters to oppose the recall. Their supporters are expected to protest on Friday, hours before polling stations open across the island. With many recall votes happening in KMT strongholds, Fell said it would be difficult for the DPP to win control of the parliament. "Even if some of the KMT legislators are recalled, other KMT politicians might win the seats back in the resulting by-elections," he said. - China looms large - National Taipei University political scientist Liu Chia-wei said the recall vote had become an "ideological duel" between the DPP and KMT, as China loomed large. Taiwan's top policy body on China said this week there was "visible evidence" Beijing was trying to "interfere" in the election process. China insists Taiwan is part of its territory and has ramped up military and political pressure on the island to press its claim of sovereignty. Lai's government has repeatedly warned of the growing threat from Chinese espionage, disinformation and cyberattacks that it says are aimed at weakening the island's defences. Public opinion on the recalls is divided. Aaron Yu, 32, said he supported the campaign because "most of the bills passed by KMT lawmakers are pro-China". But restaurant worker Sharon Chen criticised it as a waste of money, saying voters had already made their decisions in last year's elections. "Just because a certain party lost, they can't accept the result and now want to recall someone the people chose, I think that's just senseless," the 65-year-old said.


SBS Australia
20 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
France to recognise State of Palestine in September, Emmanuel Macron says
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced France will recognise Palestinian statehood, amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza. Macron said in a post on X that he will formalise the decision at the United Nations General Assembly in September. He also posted a letter he sent to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about the decision. "The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved," he wrote. France's stance on Hamas-Israel war The French president offered support for Israel after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and frequently speaks out against antisemitism, but he has grown increasingly frustrated about Israel's war in Gaza, especially in recent months. France is the biggest and most powerful European country to recognise Palestine. More than 140 countries recognise a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe. France has Europe's largest Jewish population and the largest Muslim population in western Europe, and fighting in the Middle East often spills over into protests or other tensions in France. Last month, Macron expressed his "determination to recognise the state of Palestine," and he has pushed for a broader movement toward a two-state solution, in parallel with recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself. How has Israel responded? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said France's decision to recognise a State of Palestine "rewards terror" and poses an existential threat to Israel. Netanyahu said in a statement that the move "risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became", which would be "a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it". "Let's be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel," he added. The war between Hamas and Israel is the latest escalation in a long-standing conflict. Hamas is a Palestinian political and military group, which has governed the Gaza Strip since the most recent elections in 2006. Hamas's stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state and stop the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, illegal under international law.


SBS Australia
23 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Morning News Bulletin 25 July 2025
In this bulletin; Thailand launches airstrikes after deadly border clash with Cambodia kills 11 civilians; US and Israel withdraw delegations from ceasefire talks in Qatar; And in sport, Wrestling icon and pop culture giant, Hulk Hogan, dies aged 71. At least 11 civilians have been killed after artillery attacks from both sides, prompting Thailand to send an F-16 fighter jet to bomb targets in Cambodia. Both sides blame each other for starting the clash on Thursday morning, which quickly escalated from small arms fire to heavy shelling in at least six locations along a frontier where sovereignty has been disputed for more than a century. Cambodia's foreign ministry described Thailand's deployment of six F-16 fighter jets against a Cambodian military target, as reckless and brutal military aggression, while Thailand's military says the use of air power was to strike with precision. A spokesperson for Thailand's Internal Security Command Centre says they have attempted to evacuate civilians in affected areas. "The Thai side has evacuated civilians from affected areas for safety, however there have been three serious injuries including a five-year-old boy and one death reported in a community in Surin province." It's the worst fighting between the countries in 13 years, and followed Thailand's decisoin to recall its ambassador to Phnom Penh and expel Cambodia's envoy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government remains committed to securing a new deal with Hamas to release hostages, but warned the militant group not to misread this as a sign of weakness. Mr Netanyahu spoke at a memorial for Zionist leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky, regarded as the ideological forefather of Israel's right wing. 'We are working to get another deal to release our hostages. But if Hamas perceives our willingness to reach a deal as a weakness, as an opportunity to dictate lines of defeat that will endanger Israel, it is greatly mistaken.' His remarks came as US envoy Steve Witkoff announced that the American team was withdrawing from ceasefire talks in Qatar, citing Hamas's latest response as evidence of a lack of genuine interest in a truce. Israel has also recalled its own delegation. The Albanese government has proposed new legislation to enshrine penalty rates for award workers when they work late nights, early hours, weekends and public holidays. About one in seven Australian workers will have their penalty rates increased and their employers will not be able to reduce them, under the proposed changes. Labor has introduced the bill to the lower house and, if it is passed, award workers will earn a base weekend penalty rate of about $40 an hour. While rates can vary depending on an employee's specific award or agreement, common pay rates for workers on a Sunday are double time or time and a half. Siang Lu has won this year's Miles Franklin Literary Award for his comical novel, Ghost Cities. The 39-year-old author from Brisbane says he was shocked to win the 60,000 dollar prize, and couldn't even speak after first finding out the news. It's the first time he's even made the six-person shortlist for the prize. Ghost Cities was finished in 2015, but was rejected more than 200 times by both Australian and foreign publishers. Hulk Hogan, the wrestling legend who turned the sport into a global phenomenon, has died at 71 after suffering cardiac arrest in Clearwater, Florida. Born Terry Bollea, Hogan became the face of the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s, headlining the first WrestleMania and helping launch wrestling into the mainstream. He won six World Wrestling Entertainment [[W-W-E]] championships and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005. Beyond the ring, he appeared in Rocky Three, starred in reality TV, and drew controversy with his legal battles and political endorsements. Speaking in 2009, Hogan reflected on his struggles: "I don't think many people knew what was going on in my life. And if I can pull the nose up on this monster after everything I've been through, I just wanted to let everyone know, don't give up - stay positive, life is beautiful. Things are going to be good." WWE says it extends its condolences to Hogan's family, friends, and fans.