ISTANBUL

Australian lawmakers on Monday criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government over its policy on Palestine, calling the government “gutless” and “heartless.”

“The coalition is morally bankrupt when it comes to Palestine and Labor has shown itself to be heartless, gutless cowards,” Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi told the parliament.

“You are watching the massacre of thousands of Palestinians by Israel and you are not condemning Israel. You refuse to call for an immediate cease-fire,” Faruqi said, raising “Free, Free Palestine” slogan, according to a video grab of her speech in the parliament.

The lawmaker said the Greens party would not sit and “watch you pat yourselves on the back for doing nothing.”

“Weasel words are not going to stop war crimes. Today we bring the people's protest into parliament,” Faruqi said, as she led a walkout from the parliament.

Janet Rice, Faruqi’s party colleague and senator, said on X: “Labor’s response to Israel’s war crimes in Palestine is completely inadequate. Today, the Greens senate team, including me, walked out of question time after Labor’s failure to call for an immediate ceasefire.”

“The UN … warned the Palestinian people are at grave risk of genocide. This disaster is occurring right before our eyes, and the Labor government is refusing to act,” Rice added.

Writing about “harrowing images in Israel and Gaza,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the widespread human suffering means “the need for a just and enduring peace has rarely been more pressing.”

“The future for both Israelis and Palestinians depends on this being realized.

“The status quo is failing everyone,” she wrote in the Guardian last week.

The death toll from Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip has risen to 9,770, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave announced on Sunday.

The slain include 4,800 children and 2,550 women.

The Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Besides the large number of casualties and massive displacements of people, basic supplies are running low for the 2.3 million residents in Gaza due to the Israeli siege.