This petition has now closed. Thank you for your support of the people of Gaza.
As this petition is tabled in Parliament, we join the tens of thousands across Australia who are calling for an end to the relentless suffering and death in Gaza. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders has witnessed the devastating human toll first-hand: children starved, families torn apart, entire health systems obliterated.
We need immediate and decisive action to protect civilians, uphold international humanitarian law, and ensure that lifesaving aid can reach those in desperate need. Australia must act now.
What we're calling for:
PROTECT LIVES: Lead efforts to protect civilians in Gaza, and impose all diplomatic tools on the state of Israel and its leaders.
LIFT THE SIEGE: Demand an immediate end to the siege of Gaza. A full ceasefire and safe aid access must happen now.
STOP WEAPONISING AID: Publicly stand up for International Humanitarian Law by calling out the use of food, water, and medicine as weapons of war.
To the Hon. Prime Minister of Australia,
Gaza has become a mass grave for Palestinians and is one of the greatest human-made disasters of this century. Since October 2023, over 53,000 Palestinians have been killed alongside over 1,400 health workers, 210 journalists and 400 aid workers, including 11 MSF team members. The Israeli Government is openly defying the rules of war and is acting with total impunity; this is happening on our watch. We are witnessing, in real time, the creation of conditions that may result in the total eradication of Palestinian lives in Gaza.
Israeli authorities and forces are carrying out a campaign of collective punishment and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in Gaza. Our firsthand observations are consistent with the description of genocide provided by legal experts and human rights organisations.
MSF reiterates its long-standing calls on all warring parties (including Israel and Hamas) to:
- reinstate a permanent ceasefire to protect lives and facilitate the release and return of hostages and detainees
- allow immediate unhindered access to medical assistance and humanitarian aid
- respect and fully comply with international humanitarian law (IHL) and the judgements of the International Court of Justice and other eminent bodies.
However, we recognise that these calls are going unheeded and that the humanitarian catastrophe is worsening. The deliberate suffering being perpetrated by the Israeli Government on Palestinians in Gaza is unimaginable. The Government of Israel, as the occupying power, has the obligation and responsibility to protect Palestinian lives.
This petition is for the people of Australia and our newly elected Federal Government, who have a humanitarian duty to act decisively when humanity’s red lines are crossed. It speaks to Australians who value compassion, respect, and the courage to stand against injustice.
As a respected middle power, Australia has historically played a vital role in brokering international agreements for peace and accountability. We have the ability to influence, persuade, and build strong coalitions of like-minded states. Now is our time to step up—to help end the cruelty and devastation of the deliberate starvation and killing of the Palestinian people.
We, (the undersigned, join MSF to) call on the Australian Government to lead a coalition of states to demand and take concrete action to:
PROTECT LIVES: Impose all diplomatic tools—including targeted consequences for violations of international law—on the state of Israel, its leaders and military personnel and uphold its international responsibilities by leading efforts to protect civilians in Gaza, including through new and urgent mechanisms.
LIFT THE SIEGE: Demand an immediate end to the siege of Gaza. Food, water, medical care and shelter materials must be allowed in. Palestinians must no longer be trapped under constant attack. A full ceasefire and safe aid access must happen now. The Government of Israel’s failure to act must be met with progressively tougher punitive measures from Australia.
STOP WEAPONISING AID: Publicly stand up for International Humanitarian Law by calling out the use of food, water, and medicine as weapons of war. Australia must lead efforts to strengthen IHL instruments that prohibit the weaponisation of aid and make sure nothing we export to Israel is used to deliberately harm Palestinians or block life-saving aid.
This petition has now closed. Thank you for your support of the people of Gaza.