“Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas.”

The statement represents a significant strengthening of language from aDecember joint statement by the leaders in which they said they supported “urgent international efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire” and backed Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law.

It came as Albanese announced,ahead of thetwo-year anniversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine,that the government would provide $50 million in financial support to Ukraine for military equipment.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong earlier in the day warned Israel against an incursion into Rafah,telling Senate estimates hearings,“Our message to Israel is:listen to the world,do not go down this path.”

She continued,“This would bring further devastation to more than a million civilians seeking shelter. Large-scale military operations in densely populated areas risk extensive civilian casualties. Australia believes this would be unjustifiable.”

More than 28,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died since the beginning of the war,according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. Including the October 7 fatalities,more than 1400 Israelis have been killed,according to Israeli tallies.

US President Joe Biden this week said that a “major military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible plan for ensuring the safety and support of more than 1 million people sheltering there”.

“Many people there have been displaced multiple times fleeing the violence to the north and now they are packed into Rafah,exposed and vulnerable,” he said. “They need to be protected.”

Responding to Wong’s comments,Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said,“It is not Israel that needs to listen to the world.”

He said,“when the last standing Hamas battalions,the Hamas leadership and the hostages are being kept in Rafah,it is clear the Israeli forces must go there”.

“The international pressure needs to be on Hamas to surrender and spare the people they claim to serve and represent from further hardship,” he said.

The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network welcomed the leaders’ statement,saying it “acknowledges and echoes the government’s expression of grave concern for Palestinians trapped in Rafah as Israel prepares to double down on its genocidal campaign in Gaza”.

The group urged the federal government to go further by ending all military intelligence and defence export co-operation with Israel and restoring funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Palestinian territories,which waspaused in January while claims some employees were involved in the October 7 attacks are investigated.

Marc Innes-Brown,the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade assistant secretary with responsibility for the Middle East,on Thursday said he was familiar with complaints about the agency but that they were often exaggerated by pro-Israel groups.

“The agenda is,and this is well known ... is for UNRWA to be disbanded,” he said.

Describing the agency as the “linchpin” for humanitarian assistance in the Palestinian territories,Wong indicated the government was looking to restore funding once it had addressed the allegations.

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