Israel must heed counsel of international friends to avoid ‘devastating’ effects of an assualt on Gaza’s southernmost city, say three members of Five Eye intelligence alliance
The statement by three members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance appears aimed at ratcheting up pressure on Israel to rethink plans for a ground assault on Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge.
The Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, also strengthened her language on Thursday, saying a major offensive “would bring further devastation to more than a million civilians seeking shelter in Rafah – many there by Israel’s direction”.
The opposition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Simon Birmingham, asked Wong to clarify what caveats applied to her warning, including whether Israel could proceed with an operation if it presented plans to protect civilians.
Earlier on Thursday, Ed Husic, a cabinet minister in the Albanese government, said it was “hard to see” how Israel could formulate a credible plan for an assault on Rafah while protecting civilians.
The Australian Greens’ deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, told the hearing it had been widely reported that a “so-called dossier” prepared by Israel contained no evidence to back up the claims.
Wong pointed to the fact that the head of UNRWA had sacked a number of staff members and had acknowledged the allegations were serious, saying it would be unreasonable to continue to fund the organisation “without gaining insurance”.
The original article contains 926 words, the summary contains 205 words. Saved 78%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The statement by three members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance appears aimed at ratcheting up pressure on Israel to rethink plans for a ground assault on Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge.
The Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, also strengthened her language on Thursday, saying a major offensive “would bring further devastation to more than a million civilians seeking shelter in Rafah – many there by Israel’s direction”.
The opposition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Simon Birmingham, asked Wong to clarify what caveats applied to her warning, including whether Israel could proceed with an operation if it presented plans to protect civilians.
Earlier on Thursday, Ed Husic, a cabinet minister in the Albanese government, said it was “hard to see” how Israel could formulate a credible plan for an assault on Rafah while protecting civilians.
The Australian Greens’ deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, told the hearing it had been widely reported that a “so-called dossier” prepared by Israel contained no evidence to back up the claims.
Wong pointed to the fact that the head of UNRWA had sacked a number of staff members and had acknowledged the allegations were serious, saying it would be unreasonable to continue to fund the organisation “without gaining insurance”.
The original article contains 926 words, the summary contains 205 words. Saved 78%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!