1
00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:04,439
Speaker 1: Already and this is the DAILYA, this is the Dahlias.

2
00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:18,239
Speaker 1: Oh now it makes sense. Good morning, and welcome to

3
00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,120
Speaker 1: the Daily OS. It is Friday, the sixteenth of February.

4
00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:22,600
Speaker 2: I'm billy, I'm emma.

5
00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,599
Speaker 1: Prime Minister Anthony Albanesi has released a joint statement with

6
00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,600
Speaker 1: the leaders of Canada and New Zealand that warns Israel

7
00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:33,360
Speaker 1: against invading Ruffa, a city in southern Gaza where one

8
00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:38,120
Speaker 1: point five million Palestinian people are taking refuge. It comes

9
00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,360
Speaker 1: as Israel has increased air strikes into Ruffa and is

10
00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:45,200
Speaker 1: planning a ground offensive into the city. Israel's Prime Minister

11
00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:49,440
Speaker 1: Benjamin Netanyahu has this week said quote, it is impossible

12
00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,159
Speaker 1: to achieve the goal of the war of eliminating Hermas

13
00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,040
Speaker 1: by leaving four Hermas battalions in Ruffa. Before we get

14
00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,200
Speaker 1: into explaining that emma. What is making headlines today.

15
00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,160
Speaker 2: Australia's unemployment rate rose from three point nine to four

16
00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,679
Speaker 2: point one percent in January. The figure refers to the

17
00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,560
Speaker 2: percentage of people who were looking for work last month

18
00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,520
Speaker 2: but couldn't find a job. Over fourteen million people are

19
00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,279
Speaker 2: employed in Australia, while more than five thousand people lost

20
00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,200
Speaker 2: work last month. According to the latest data from the

21
00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:28,520
Speaker 2: Bureau of Statistics. Despite the increase in unemployment, Treasurer Jim

22
00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:33,000
Speaker 2: Chalmers said four point one percent is still considered historically low.

23
00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:37,080
Speaker 2: The five year unemployment average before the pandemic was around

24
00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:38,440
Speaker 2: five point five percent.

25
00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:43,759
Speaker 1: New South Wales has announced a new task force to

26
00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:48,520
Speaker 1: investigate several recent asbestos discoveries in garden match. The discoveries

27
00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,720
Speaker 1: have led to the closure of several parks and a

28
00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,120
Speaker 1: school in Sydney, Southwest. As Bestos was also found at

29
00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,080
Speaker 1: the planned site of popular Mardi Gras event Fair Day,

30
00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:59,960
Speaker 1: which has now been canceled. The task force will meet

31
00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:04,240
Speaker 1: for the first time today. The state's Environmental Protection Authority

32
00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,440
Speaker 1: is also engaged in what environment Minister Penny Sharp called

33
00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:09,480
Speaker 1: a complex criminal investigation.

34
00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,080
Speaker 2: Crowds of farmers in India have been met with tear

35
00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,960
Speaker 2: gas during protests for better produced prices. In New Delhi.

36
00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,640
Speaker 2: Farmers calls for the government to increase minimum prices for

37
00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,880
Speaker 2: their crops culminated in a march to the capitol this week.

38
00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:30,120
Speaker 2: Authorities responded to the protests by deploying tear gas on

39
00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:34,080
Speaker 2: the crowds from drones. Some farmers have used kites to

40
00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:36,680
Speaker 2: try to bring the drones down and stop them from

41
00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:38,200
Speaker 2: spraying more gas.

42
00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,760
Speaker 1: And today's good news. Ozzies have picked up gold medals

43
00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,160
Speaker 1: at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha this week, including

44
00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,880
Speaker 1: thirty two year old diver around in Iffland who dove

45
00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:51,760
Speaker 1: from a height of twenty meters to take out the

46
00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:55,519
Speaker 1: top spot. Sadly that category is not included in the Olympics.

47
00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,079
Speaker 1: But some more good news, Australia has won some other

48
00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:04,520
Speaker 1: gold in swimming, diving and open water swimming competitions.

49
00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:09,519
Speaker 2: Billy, before we talk about what's unfolding in Rufa, can

50
00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,120
Speaker 2: you first just share a bit of brief context on

51
00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:13,320
Speaker 2: the current situation.

52
00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:16,720
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'll preface it by saying, which we have

53
00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,000
Speaker 1: said before on this podcast when we've talked about this,

54
00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:22,760
Speaker 1: that it is an extremely complex topic and there is

55
00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,240
Speaker 1: a long history of conflict here that in a ten

56
00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,960
Speaker 1: minute podcast we can't get into. But I'll give a

57
00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:32,880
Speaker 1: brief background starting from what happened on October seven. So

58
00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,160
Speaker 1: on the seventh of October last year, Hermas launched an

59
00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,040
Speaker 1: attack on Israel, and according to data cited by the

60
00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,880
Speaker 1: United Nations, roughly one two hundred people were killed in

61
00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,360
Speaker 1: that attack. Now about two hundred and forty hostages were

62
00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,880
Speaker 1: captured by Hermas, which controls Gaza, and about one hundred

63
00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:55,360
Speaker 1: and thirty four of those hostages remain captive. Israel responded

64
00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,720
Speaker 1: to that attack by declaring war and bombarding Gaza. According

65
00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,480
Speaker 1: to da decided by the UN, more than twenty eight

66
00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,080
Speaker 1: thousand Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the seventh

67
00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:11,600
Speaker 1: of October. Israel's war in Gaza has caused a humanitarian crisis.

68
00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,560
Speaker 1: Israel has said it will not stop fighting until all

69
00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,560
Speaker 1: hostages are returned and Hamas is destroyed.

70
00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,560
Speaker 2: And so yesterday we had this statement from three prime ministers,

71
00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:28,240
Speaker 2: including Australia's concerning Ruffa, which is a city in Gaza. So, Billy,

72
00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:30,960
Speaker 2: what do we need to know about Ruffa?

73
00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:33,960
Speaker 1: While start by saying that at the start of Israel's

74
00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,440
Speaker 1: war in Gaza, the military's focus was on the north

75
00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,719
Speaker 1: of the territory and that caused civilians to flee to

76
00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:44,560
Speaker 1: southern areas of Gaza, including Ruffa, which is why there

77
00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,000
Speaker 1: are now one point five million people taking refuge there.

78
00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,919
Speaker 1: But since the initial focus on the north, Israel's military

79
00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,400
Speaker 1: has since moved southwards and they have indicated that they

80
00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:59,680
Speaker 1: do plan to invade Rafa. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Nenya,

81
00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:03,080
Speaker 1: who has this week said quote, it is impossible to

82
00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,280
Speaker 1: achieve the goal of the war of eliminating Hermas by

83
00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:10,520
Speaker 1: leaving four Hermas battalions in Ruffa. His office also said

84
00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,080
Speaker 1: civilians would need to be evacuated from combat zones ahead

85
00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,760
Speaker 1: of a ground offensive. So from Israel's perspective, they're saying

86
00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,840
Speaker 1: that there is a presence of Hermas in Rafa, and

87
00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:26,239
Speaker 1: this week Israeli forces rescued two hostages in Rufa. Now,

88
00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,640
Speaker 1: Rafa is approximately sixty four square kilometers, meaning there are

89
00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,320
Speaker 1: nearly twenty two thousand people per square kilometer, and that

90
00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,800
Speaker 1: makes it one of the most population dense locations in

91
00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:42,279
Speaker 1: the world right now. Now, this city is also a

92
00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:47,520
Speaker 1: critical point of entry for trucks delivering humanitarian aid. In November,

93
00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:52,360
Speaker 1: a UN official called the crossing an outrageously thin lifeline

94
00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:57,720
Speaker 1: of food, water, fuel, and electricity for Gaza's population and.

95
00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,839
Speaker 2: Billy, this crossing that we've heard a lot about in

96
00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:05,840
Speaker 2: terms of aid access borders Egypt, is that correct.

97
00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,039
Speaker 1: Yes, which is why it's such a critical point for

98
00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,520
Speaker 1: humanitarian aid to get to the Palestinian people who are

99
00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,880
Speaker 1: in Gaza now. The United Nations has also said that

100
00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:19,120
Speaker 1: the population in Rafa is quote staring death in the face.

101
00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,720
Speaker 1: They have little to eat, hardly any access to medical care,

102
00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,000
Speaker 1: nowhere to sleep, and nowhere safe to go. It also added,

103
00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,800
Speaker 1: quote military operations in Rafa could lead to a slaughter

104
00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,120
Speaker 1: in Gaza. They could also leave an already fragile humanitarian

105
00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:36,880
Speaker 1: operation at death's door.

106
00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,159
Speaker 2: And so that brings us to this week, this statement

107
00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,760
Speaker 2: from these three world leaders. We have the Prime Ministers

108
00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:49,800
Speaker 2: of Australia, New Zealand and Canada Anthony Albernezi, Christopher Luxen

109
00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,720
Speaker 2: and Justin Trudeau. What have they said in this statement?

110
00:06:54,279 --> 00:06:54,440
Speaker 3: Yet?

111
00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:56,880
Speaker 1: It's also not the first time that these three leaders

112
00:06:56,960 --> 00:06:59,320
Speaker 1: have given a statement. The last time was to call

113
00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:03,560
Speaker 1: for a sustaina bull ceasefire. But yesterday they again released

114
00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,200
Speaker 1: a statement and I'm going to read out a part

115
00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:08,839
Speaker 1: of it. It's a lengthy statement that we have briefly

116
00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:11,520
Speaker 1: cut down, but in the show notes we will link

117
00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:13,520
Speaker 1: to the full statement for you to read if you'd like,

118
00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,600
Speaker 1: but I'll just read out some of it. So it said, quote,

119
00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:20,000
Speaker 1: we are gravely concerned by indications that Israel is planning

120
00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,840
Speaker 1: a ground offensive into Rafa. A military operation into Rafa

121
00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:28,440
Speaker 1: would be catastrophic. About one point five million Palestinians are

122
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,920
Speaker 1: taking refuge in the area, including many of our citizens

123
00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:35,400
Speaker 1: and their families. We urge the Israeli government not to

124
00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:38,600
Speaker 1: go down this path. There is simply nowhere else for

125
00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:43,760
Speaker 1: civilians to go. An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed.

126
00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,000
Speaker 1: And just to remind it here, a ceasefire, as defined

127
00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:51,280
Speaker 1: by the United Nations, is when all sides, so in

128
00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:55,040
Speaker 1: this case Israel and Hamas commit to halting violence and

129
00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:58,680
Speaker 1: entering talks. And these talks are sometimes facilitated by a

130
00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,760
Speaker 1: third party. And you might remember there was a temporary

131
00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:04,480
Speaker 1: ceasefire last year, but that didn't last for longer than

132
00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:08,440
Speaker 1: a week. The statement also said quote, the International Court

133
00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:12,240
Speaker 1: of Justice has been clear Israel must ensure the delivery

134
00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:17,440
Speaker 1: of basic services and essential humanitarian assistants and must protect civilians.

135
00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,440
Speaker 1: So the International Court of Justice, or you might have

136
00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,440
Speaker 1: heard it referred to as the World Court, it recently

137
00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:27,000
Speaker 1: heard a case brought by South Africa against Israel over

138
00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,920
Speaker 1: accusations of genocide, and the prime ministers there are referring

139
00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,440
Speaker 1: to a part of the ICJ's provisional ruling. And this

140
00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:36,280
Speaker 1: is just the last bit of the statement that I'll

141
00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:40,160
Speaker 1: read out. It said, quote, any ceasefire cannot be one sided.

142
00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:44,920
Speaker 1: Harmas must lay down its arms and release all hostages immediately.

143
00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,679
Speaker 1: We again unequivocally condemn her mass for its terror attacks

144
00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:53,640
Speaker 1: on Israel on October seven. Ultimately, a negotiated political solution

145
00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:56,719
Speaker 1: is needed to achieve lasting peace and security.

146
00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:02,079
Speaker 2: So this statement from those leaders. After the Foreign Minister,

147
00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:06,720
Speaker 2: Penny Wog made some comments herself about the situation in Ruffa.

148
00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:08,560
Speaker 2: What did she say?

149
00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:12,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, so Penny Wang, she is the Foreign minister. She

150
00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,480
Speaker 1: said that invading Ruffa would create a risk of significant

151
00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:20,080
Speaker 1: civilian casualties that she said would be quote unjustifiable. And

152
00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,920
Speaker 1: she said there is growing international consensus against the proposed

153
00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,400
Speaker 1: military operation into Ruffa. So it's very similar to what

154
00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,680
Speaker 1: the prime ministers said in their joint statement.

155
00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,720
Speaker 2: So just going off Pennywong's statement, she said this idea

156
00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:39,000
Speaker 2: of a growing international consensus against the proposed military operation

157
00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,679
Speaker 2: into Ruffa. When we think of the big players here,

158
00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:45,800
Speaker 2: what about the US Have we heard from them on this?

159
00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,920
Speaker 1: Yeah? So the US, as I'm sure many of you

160
00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:53,080
Speaker 1: will know, is one of Israel's closest allies. This week,

161
00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,160
Speaker 1: US President Joe Biden he held a press conference and

162
00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,400
Speaker 1: he did speak about the situation in Ruffa. Here's a

163
00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:00,880
Speaker 1: bit of what he's As.

164
00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:04,920
Speaker 3: I said yesterday, our military operation of Rafa, the major

165
00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:09,560
Speaker 3: military operation Rafa, should not proceed without a credible plan,

166
00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:13,079
Speaker 3: a credible plan for ensuring the safety and support of

167
00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,920
Speaker 3: more than one million people sheltering there. Many people there

168
00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:21,520
Speaker 3: have been displaced, displaced multiple times fleeing the violence to

169
00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:26,120
Speaker 3: the north, and now they're packed into Rafa, exposed and vulnerable.

170
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,280
Speaker 3: They need to be protected. And we've also been clear

171
00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:35,280
Speaker 3: from the start we oppose any force displacement of Palestinians

172
00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:36,040
Speaker 3: from Gaza.

173
00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,520
Speaker 2: So it's clear a number of world leaders are focusing

174
00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,080
Speaker 2: on Rafa, and we will be sure to keep you

175
00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,960
Speaker 2: updated on what happens from here. Billy, thank you so

176
00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:49,439
Speaker 2: much for unpacking that for us today. Not a simple topic,

177
00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,000
Speaker 2: but we really appreciate it. And as Billy mentioned earlier

178
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:53,600
Speaker 2: in the episode, if you want to look at that

179
00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:56,480
Speaker 2: statement in full, there is a link in the show notes.

180
00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:58,640
Speaker 2: And as always, we will keep a close eye on

181
00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:00,880
Speaker 2: this one at the Daily OZ and continue to keep

182
00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:04,959
Speaker 2: you updated. Thanks so much for joining us on today's episode.

183
00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:07,000
Speaker 2: We'll be back on Monday.

184
00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,640
Speaker 1: My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda

185
00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:16,640
Speaker 1: Bungelung Kalkutin woman from Gadighl country. The Daily oz acknowledges

186
00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:18,880
Speaker 1: that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the

187
00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:22,440
Speaker 1: Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres

188
00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:25,240
Speaker 1: s right island and nations. We pay our respects to

189
00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,199
Speaker 1: the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.