Western governments have called for stability in the region and say they want to avoid a wider conflagration. A ceasefire would take all the nations of the Middle East off the military escalator, and talks with a recognised Palestinian state at their heart would offer hope of a regional order built on inclusion, rather than the continuous violence of the past 76 years.

Albanese has also emphasised the need to “show care in relation to … innocent civilians”, something that cannot happen unless Gaza is opened to a global humanitarian effort, and not closed off from the world while Israel reduces one neighbourhood after another to rubble.

The dwindling numbers of weary United Nations Relief and Works Agency staff, also a target of Israel’s violence and their agency at risk of collapse as donor countries freeze their funds based on Israeli allegations, cannot deliver aid while jets and drones target their facilities.

Israeli hostages cannot be safely returned to their relatives. Even the families of hostages demand a ceasefire to ensure their loved ones make it home alive. Instead, their prime minister promises a “total victory” which even his closest ally and his own military intelligence tell him is a mirage.

The international community cannot allow, let alone provide cover for, Israel to not only vent its rage by collectively punishing a population where almost half are children, but carry out the goal of depopulation expressed by some senior government figures including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, under the pretense of decimating Hamas.

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A ceasefire opens the way for the investigation and prosecution of Hamas for any international law violations on October 7, just as it requires that any Israeli perpetrators of international law violations submit themselves for investigation and prosecution.

Since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel has a plausible case of genocide to answer in Gaza, continued support for Israel’s bombardment of the Palestinian people brings governments perilously close to complicity with this atrocity.

Israel will not comply with international law simply because the letter of that law is invoked. Demanding a state cease to inflict slaughter on a subject population requires consequences for non-compliance, including concrete measures from governments like ours.

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Israel last week rejected a Hamas proposal for a 4½-month ceasefire, which included the release of all hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the negotiation of an agreement to end the crisis. The terms proposed were based on international law norms and echoed the ICJ’s provisional measures.

Israel must heed the Australian government’s words, just as the Australian government must recognise these words are as applicable to Israel as they are to Hamas – there can be no “one-sided ceasefire”. Australia, Canada and New Zealand last week again implored Israel to abide by international law – a welcome step – but we must be equally clear that we are prepared to diplomatically and economically isolate Israel should it continue its atrocities. The Australian government must now make those terms clear.

There can be no safety for anyone without a ceasefire. Our common humanity and community cohesion can only be restored through a ceasefire.

And Gaza cannot wait another moment for one.

Nasser Mashni is the head of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network.

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