Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Motions

Middle East conflict

Anasina GRAY-BARBERIO (Northern Metropolitan) (09:47): I move, by leave:

That this house:

(1) notes that:

(a) since the collapse of the ceasefire in Gaza on the night between 17 and 18 March 2025, intense military activities and hostilities have continued, killing and injuring hundreds of people and further damaging and destroying what remains of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals;

(b) over 180 children were reported killed on 18 March 2025, marking ‘one of the largest single-day child death toll in the last year’ according to UNICEF;

(c) on 19 March 2025, two UN guesthouses were hit by an explosion in Deir al-Balah, killing one United Nations Office for Project Services team member and injuring six more United Nations staff, some of whom sustained life-altering injuries;

(d) humanitarian aid and supplies have not entered the Gaza Strip since 2 March 2025, when the Israeli authorities imposed a siege;

(e) this siege has now lasted over three weeks, surpassing the duration of the total siege first imposed in October 2023 when the war started and as a result, critical humanitarian supplies, including food and medical aid, are rapidly depleting;

(f) on 24 March 2025, the United Nations Secretary-General stated that they have ‘taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza’ … ‘However, the UN is not leaving the Gaza Strip and “remains committed to continuing to provide aid that civilians depend on for their survival and protection”’;

(2) does not support the State of Israel’s continued invasion of Gaza; and

(3) supports calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Leave refused.