MEDIA RELEASE
24 June 2026
The Jewish Council of Australia condemns Israel’s actions in the strongest terms and urges country-level sanctions from the Australian government, following the release overnight of another independent inquiry that has found Israel is deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza.
The conclusions of the report reinforce earlier findings that Israel is committing genocide and are another devastating reminder of the need for the Australian Government to act decisively and sanction the government of Israel and expel its ambassador.
The report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, has found that approximately 30% of people killed by Israeli forces have been children, and that these attacks were intentional.
The commission concluded in its report on Tuesday that by targeting children, Israel is undermining the capacity of the Palestinian people to exist and to determine their future. The commission had previously found in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.
Speaking in response to the release of the report, Sarah Schwartz, Executive Director, of the Jewish Council of Australia said:
“As Jews, we know what genocide looks like. The Holocaust taught us that the world’s failure to act in the face of evidence is something that cannot be allowed to happen again.
“The evidence here is documented, it is undeniable, and the silence of governments around the world is complicity.
“The deliberate targeting of children is not a military strategy. It is the destruction of a people’s future. The UN has now said this twice. How many times does it need to be said before Australia’s government takes dramatic action?”
Bart Shteinman, Executive Officer of the Jewish Council of Australia demanded immediate action from the Australian Government:
“This report confirms what human rights organisations, legal experts and genocide scholars have been documenting for months and we cannot ignore this as Australians.
“The Jewish Council welcomed the decision by the Albanese Government to impose individual sanctions on extremist ministers such as Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir but the responsibility lies with the Israeli government as a whole.
“Children are being killed deliberately, systematically, and in numbers that cannot be explained by any legitimate military objective. That is genocide. And genocide demands a response that holds all actors accountable and forces them to stop.
“We call on the Australian Government to use every power that it has to expand its sanctions regime so that the entire Government of Israel is held to account and feels the pressure needed to force a change in its actions.”
The Jewish Council of Australia reiterates its calls on the Australian Government to expand its sanctions regime, suspend all defence trade and military cooperation with Israel and expel Israel’s ambassador immediately.
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