Mr Husic, the first Muslim-Australian minister, condemned the actions of Hamas but broke with cabinet rank to voice his concern at how Israel had retaliated.
A blast at a Gaza city hospital earlier this week killed at least 500 people, but Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are pointing fingers at each other. “I really do feel that there is an obligation on governments, particularly the Israeli government, to follow the rules of international law and to observe in particular that innocents should be protected,” he told ABC Radio.
Anne Aly said it was ‘difficult to argue’ that Palestinians weren’t being collectively punished. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman “And the Prime Minister and Penny Wong have been very careful to also talk about the loss of civilian lives in Palestine.”