Scott Morrison has joined former UK PM Boris Johnson on a “solidarity” trip to Israel.
It’s the first visit to the area by an Australian minister since the October 7 attacks on Israeli settlements. The pair touched down at Ben Gurion airport early Sunday morning, and were greeted by Israel’s former ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon.
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In a statement, Morrison said he wanted to see the situation for himself.
“I am thankful for the opportunity to join former prime minister Johnson, to come to Israel as a demonstration of solidarity with the people and State of Israel and the Jewish community throughout the world,” he said.
The former world leaders are expected to meet with Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, and tour impacted Israeli settlements. They toured Kfar Aza, an Israeli settlement on the Gaza border that was attacked by Hamas on October 7. On tour, Morrison said “you can’t help but feel overwhelmed”.
“You can’t help but be overwhelmed by the sense of that where we’re standing was once, a month ago, a place of innocence and now has been desecrated beyond comprehension,” he said.
In the near-month since October 7, at least 9700 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, including more than 4000 children.
On Sunday, Israel bombed al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least 47 people and wounding dozens, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Another 13 people were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit houses near a school at another refugee camp. So far, three refugee camps have been targeted.
Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire on Sunday, telling news crews, “There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages.”
Reuters reported Hamas said on Friday that more than 60 hostages were missing because of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, with 23 bodies presumed trapped under the rubble.
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