Israeli police evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from Gaza. Photo / AP
New Zealanders with friends and family in Israel are “horrified” and desperately trying to contact loved ones after the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack against the Jewish state, with thousands already dead and wounded in the fighting.
Backed by a barrage of rockets, Hamas militants stormed out of blockaded Gaza by sea, land and air into nearby Israeli towns, killing civilians and troops and abducting others.
A stunned Israel has retaliated by launching airstrikes in Gaza, killing hundreds, with its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the country is now at war with Hamas and vowing to “take mighty vengeance for this black day”.
New Zealand Jewish Council member Juliet Moses told the Herald the situation is extremely distressing for Jews across the world on what is the religious holiday of Simchat Torah.
“It’s terrifying and extremely concerning and a very, very dark day for Israel and Jewish communities around the world, including here.”
Moses said the Jewish community worldwide is smaller than people think, so the degree of separation is small.
“There are certainly people I know who know people who have been murdered,” Moses said. “And there are people as well who don’t know the whereabouts of family or friends.”
Moses said they may have been taken hostage, killed, or are in a hospital.
When conflict flares up in Israel, it can also lead to increased hostility against Jewish communities elsewhere in the world, Moses said.
“We have to take that very seriously,” she said. “So security is normally ramped up for communities around the world, and that is what has happened for us in New Zealand now as well.”
She said New Zealand Police has been “very supportive”.
A police spokeswoman said they have been providing reassurance patrols to synagogues across New Zealand after the attacks and will continue to monitor the situation.
New Zealand Friends of Israel president Tony Kan told NZME he was feeling “horrified” about the attacks and thought of the many, many Israeli tourists who have travelled to Aotearoa and been hosted by the organisation, many of whom travel after completing their compulsory military service.
“When you see something like this happening, it’s horrifying because they’re family friends now ... and when you see that the violence is indiscriminate, that elderly, children, non-combatants - it’s shocking, really.
“They think of New Zealand as the safest place on earth,” he said. “It’s thousands of miles away from any conflict, and they come here and it’s a great relief for them, but when they go home, they’re back into the fray of this kind of stuff.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said there are currently 87 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel as being in Israel, and one registered in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
New Zealanders in Israel are advised to remain security-conscious, monitor local media and stay informed of developments, register on SafeTravel and, if requiring consular assistance, contact the New Zealand 24/7 Consular Emergency Line on +64 99 20 20 20.
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa national chair John Minto said he has had “indirect contact” with people in Gaza.
He said although people are apprehensive about what might happen during the Israeli retaliation, he believed Palestinians were “fighting back against Israeli military occupation of their country”.
“We don’t support any attacks on civilians, that would be a war crime,” Minto said. “But we do support the Palestinians, they have a legal right to fight back.”
New Zealand’s political leaders, meanwhile, have largely condemned Hamas’ attacks, but our Foreign Affairs Minister has been criticised for her response.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins expressed “grave concern” about the conflict.
“New Zealand condemns unequivocally the terror attacks led by Hamas on Israel,” he said. “We are appalled by the targeting of civilians and the taking of hostages, which violates fundamental international humanitarian law principles.”
New Zealand has designated the military wing of Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
“We recognise Israel’s right to defend itself,” Hipkins said, following similar comments from US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.
“We are very concerned that the situation will escalate in the coming days, and New Zealand again calls for restraint, the protection of non-combatants and the upholding of international humanitarian law by all parties.”
Hipkins’ statement came after Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta said New Zealand is “deeply concerned at the outbreak of conflict between Israel and Gaza”.
“We call for the immediate cessation of violence. The protection of all civilians, and upholding of international humanitarian law, is essential,” Mahuta said on social media.
Mahuta’s comments were criticised by political opponents, including Act Party leader David Seymour.
“Someone in New Zealand needs to say this, and we can’t rely on our current Foreign Minister, Nanaia Mahuta. Act utterly condemns the appalling attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel,” Seymour said in a statement.
“We stand with our friends and allies in the United States, Australia and Britain in condemning the attacks, which include indiscriminate rocket fire on Israeli cities and the killing of innocent civilians. Act stands with the people of Israel and strongly supports Israel’s right to defend itself.”
National Party leader Christopher Luxon echoed a similar sentiment and said he was shocked and saddened by the attacks against Israel.
“We condemn these Hamas attacks on Israel and the violence and suffering being inflicted on innocent civilians. There is no justification for these attacks and Israel has a right to defend itself,” he said on social media.
Luxon later told reporters “our long-standing position is that we want to see a peaceful, diplomatic solution and two-state solution emerge” in the region.
Earlier this month, Labour’s Phil Twyford said if re-elected to government, Labour would invite the Palestinian ambassador based in Canberra to present his credentials as ambassador to New Zealand.
“This is a simple and direct way to convey diplomatic recognition of Palestine. In taking this step, New Zealand would join 138 other countries in recognising Palestine,” the former Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control said.
“It’s my hope it will add New Zealand’s voice to the international call for a peaceful and just solution in Israel-Palestine.”
Seymour continued his criticism of Labour and Mahuta by saying New Zealand needs a government “which stands firm with its allies”.
“Sadly, under Labour, New Zealand stands alone in the worst possible way, with a Foreign Minister only able to express ‘concern’ that violence has ‘broken out’, as if it happened by chance.
“In an increasingly uncertain world, New Zealand needs a government that is committed to defence, committed to working with our friends and allies and committed to defending freedom and democracy worldwide. Act will provide that commitment and sense of purpose in the next government.”
Green Party foreign affairs spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman said the “scenes in Israel are heartbreaking”.
“Nothing justifies targeting or harming civilians. Palestinian armed groups and Israeli forces must make every effort to protect civilians now.”
University of Waikato international law professor Al Gillespie told the Herald the international community needs to stand up in solidarity against the attack on Israel.
“You don’t really argue about whether it’s justified, what’s done or not,” Gillespie said. “You see these methods of warfare that violate international humanitarian law and what you’re seeing - taking hostages is a crime.
“It’s an international crime that is commonly linked to terrorism or firing rockets indiscriminately into a city, or just shooting people because you don’t like them as opposed to them being enemy combatants. It’s a question of law - no matter why you’re angry, you can’t do this to other people, and that’s where New Zealand will have to try to find its voice.”
Gillespie said the weekend’s attacks, which came on the 50th anniversary of the surprise Arab offensive which sparked the Yom Kippur War, had a plethora of reasons and history behind them, but he believed the Hamas incursion was not an act of war, rather an act of terrorism.
Israel has occupied the West Bank and Gaza - followed by its ongoing blockade - since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, known as the Six-Day War.
Historically, Israeli civilians and soldiers have been kidnapped and held hostage during the ongoing hostilities, Gillespie said.
“And so even though Israel’s got a pretty strong policy of non-negotiation, no government wants to see its citizens abused or maltreated, especially when that’s streamed live on the internet.”
He said Israel won’t just be negotiating for those who are kept hostage, but also for the bodies of those who have been killed.
Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.
Sam Hurley is a news director and senior reporter. He joined the Herald in 2017 and has previously worked for 1News and Hawke’s Bay Today. He studied the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and Middle East international relations at the University of Waikato.
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