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A senior federal cabinet minister has implored Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to flow into devastated Gaza, accusing the country of ignoring an "unprecedented crisis".
"In many respects, Israel has refused to listen to what I believe are absolutely not just reasonable but vital calls for people to get the aid that they need," Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic told the ABC's Q+A on Monday.
"I think the best thing that could happen right now is Israel actually allows humanitarian aid to go through.
"That's the thing that is not being discussed adequately. They need to let this happen."
Aid groups have reported extreme difficulties in delivering vital supplies to Gaza, where the militant group Hamas says more than 30,000 Palestinians have died in the ongoing conflict.
The current conflict began after militants from Hamas and other groups in Gaza raided southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing around 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages.
US President Joe Biden has ordered his forces to build a temporary dock on the Gaza shoreline for aid delivery, warning Israel in his State of the Union speech on Friday that "humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip".
Mr Husic — the country's first Muslim cabinet minister and representing a large Arab community in his western Sydney electorate — says the decision to build the dock demonstrates Israel must do more.
"Innocent civilians should not be paying the price and they should be able to get the aid flowing through a lot quicker," he said.
"There is an unprecedented crisis happening there and there are decisions, life and death decisions, being made by Israel that need to be dealt with."
Asked by Q+A host Patricia Karvelas if Israel should face sanctions for its military operations, Mr Husic said that would "enter into the public debate increasingly".
"It is not up to me to be floating those type of discussions, but the point for me is to say certainly that we need to see Israel take a different position when it comes to the flow of humanitarian aid," he said.
"There are at least seven different points at which that aid could come through, not least of which being through Rafah, and that needs to be improved."
Aid funds restored 'as quickly as possible'
Australia is still reviewing its aid funding to Gaza through a United Nations humanitarian group.
More than a dozen countries pulled support for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) over allegations some staff had links to Hamas, though Sweden and Canada have recently restored donations.
Mr Husic says Australia must quickly join them.
"We are working hard and we do need to see funding resumed as quickly as possible," he said.
"UNRWA doesn't just supply humanitarian aid, it's responsible for the functioning of community in Gaza.
"The biggest thing that needs to be front and centre here is that children over there are starving in Gaza. People are without food, water, medicine, and there is a concern of a further loss of life as a result of Israel's military operations in Gaza."
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia is working with donor countries "on the shared objective of rebuilding confidence and ensuring aid flows to Gazans in desperate need".
The ABC reports Senator Wong is being lobbied by members of her own party over the funding, with some MPs wanting the government to move faster.
Lambie: Role for UN peacekeepers
Independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie says the United Nations should expand its role in the territory to include a peacekeeping operation.
"Why aren't we talking about putting peacekeepers over there at these checkpoints, neutral countries that are not involved … to make sure this food is getting delivered?" she asked Q+A.
"Why aren't we doing that? Nobody is talking about this. I don't see a reason why not."
Senator Lambie has offered support for Israel in parliament and expressed concern about rising anti-Semitism in Australia.
But she says Israel's military action in Gaza is testing international support.
"I think Israel is starting to annoy a lot of people out there," she said.
"They are sitting right on the line."
Watch the full episode of Q+A on iview.