Impacts of Hamas attack felt in Canberra

The Palestinian militant group launched a multi-front attack on Israeli towns on Saturday that included missile strikes and fighter incursions.

It is estimated at least 700 Israelis have been killed, and dozens of hostages taken, while more than 400 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory strikes on Gaza.

The Embassy of Israel's spokesperson in Canberra, Ilana Lenk, said she did not know anybody who hadn't been impacted in some way.

"My social media is full of pictures and comments of people asking if they've seen their loved ones, if they have had any contact with these people, if anybody has heard or can connect them," she said.

"This is something that we've never seen before in this capacity."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday condemned Hamas' "abhorrent attack on Israel" and said "Israel has a right to defend itself". Australia has classified Hamas as a terrorist organisation since 2001.

"This is a dreadful circumstance that people didn't see coming, it wasn't foreshadowed; a shock attack," Mr Albanese said.

"I spoke to the Israeli ambassador to Australia [Amir Maimon], who's in Israel this morning and he, of course, was very shaken, as you would expect.

"And this action is ongoing, it must stop. Israel has a right to defend itself, which is what it is doing."

In a statement on Sunday, Ambassador Maimon said Israel had been "shattered by a ruthless and deadly terrorist onslaught by Hamas".

He thanked Australian politicians, including Mr Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for their phone calls and messages of support: "I know they speak for millions of Australians and friends of Israel. These are terrible, dark days for my country.

"Now we have the grim task of finishing a fight we did not seek, and did not start. We will spare no effort in defending our homeland."

READ MORE:

Ms Lenk was coordinating meetings and statements on Sunday as her family, including her grandparents, sheltered in Israel.

"They can't run up and down the stairs, they're sitting there and and it's affecting everyone," she said.

"So my siblings, my parents, my friends and family are all in bomb shelters since yesterday morning, Israel time.

"And it's very difficult to be away, I can tell you that, it's hard to be 12,000km from home at such a horrible time."

In a statement on Sunday, the Israeli embassy said Hamas "will bear the results and responsibility for the events."

"The residents of the Gaza Strip are not enemies of Israel, but the terrorist organisations that operate knowingly and deliberately from within densely populated areas and adjacent to humanitarian buildings and institutions make cynical use of them."

Lama Alqasem, a Palestinian Australian in Canberra and member of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network said locals were sharing news in a WhatsApp chat and were "horrified, terrified".

"We're really scared that [a] similar death toll will happen in Gaza, similar to what's happened in the previous four Gaza wars," she said.

"We're really worried about our people, definitely, we're really worried about some of the Palestinian community here in Canberra. They have families there, these people are particularly very terrified."

On Sunday she had been fielding half-hourly calls from families in Gaza, phoning to update her on the situation.

"One of the families that I know, have lost a few family members in the 2014 war. And for them, it's just a continuous nightmare," she said.

Ms Alqasem said members of the Palestinian community felt "betrayed" by the Australian government's stance on the attack, and media coverage of it.

"I feel like we're just a line of '220 Palestinians were killed'. And I feel like we're dehumanised," she said.

In a statement released Saturday, the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific said it had "repeatedly warned of the consequences of blocking the political horizon, and of not allowing the Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate right to self-determination and statehood".

"The only way to achieve security, stability, and peace in our region is by ending the Israeli occupation and recognising the right of the Palestinian people to an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on 1967 borders," they said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: