Palestinians fleeing war-torn Gaza are being demonised when they are in urgent need of resettlement, a human rights advocate says.
Israel's violence in Gaza has shown no signs of easing, with the territory's death toll reaching a sombre milestone on Friday.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's bombing campaign and ground offensive in the enclave, according to the local health ministry.
Rather than progress humanitarian efforts, politicians are escalating anti-Palestinian rhetoric and influencing harmful policy decisions, according to Amnesty International Australia.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called for a ban on visas for those fleeing Gaza, saying terrorist sympathisers have been allowed into Australia.
Amnesty's Occupied Palestinian Territories spokesperson Mohamed Duar says portraying Palestinians this way is misleading, discriminatory and inflammatory, and "demonises people who are genuinely fleeing a crisis".
"It's rooted in the racist presumptions that ultimately suggest some lives are more valuable than others," Mr Duar told AAP.
"They are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and families ... there are doctors, engineers, nurses, journalists ... there are Muslims and Christians as well.
"They are everyday people, just like you and me, who are seeking safety from the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza."
Cabinet minister Bill Shorten has backed his government's visa vetting processes, citing Department of Home Affairs figures that show 7100 visas had been rejected and 2922 approved, and only 1300 people had arrived safely in Australia.
Mr Shorten accused Mr Dutton of attempting to score political points and implying "that all Gazans are terrorists".
"If Peter thinks that one of the 1300 people here is a security risk, he should come forward with his evidence ... and help the government keep the nation safe," Mr Shorten told the Today Show on Friday.
"Put up or shut up, mate."
Mr Dutton says it is a national security issue as the asylum seekers came from a war zone controlled by Hamas, which is a listed terrorist organisation in Australia.
"We need to be very careful," he told the Today Show.
"You need to manage a migration program well."
Violence in the region reignited after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel which killed 1200 people and led to more than 200 being taken hostage, according to authorities in Tel Aviv.
In the 10 months since, Israel's military forces have struck schools, hospitals, aid trucks and refugee camps.
About 1.9 million people have been displaced while 495,000 are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
"(The airstrikes) have turned places of learning and refuge into scenes of devastation," Mr Duar said.
"Sanctuaries for children have become battlegrounds and the reality is that nowhere in Gaza is safe."
Rejecting thousands of visas from Palestinians escaping the situation is an abdication of Australia's legal and moral obligations, Amnesty International Australia has said.
Asylum seekers had been offered tourist visas, but many had also been rejected because they were assessed as not being tourists or not intending to return home, in a process heavily criticised by Amnesty.
Mr Duar said the process is either "highly dysfunctional, deliberately cruel, or both" and urged the government to offer a more permanent solution, such as a humanitarian visa.
The previous coalition government supported thousands of visas for Ukrainian and Afghan refugees under a humanitarian program.
About 12,000 people from Northern Iraq and Syria were also taken in by Australia when that area was controlled by Islamic State.
"What Amnesty is calling for is a non-discriminatory and equitable approach to those fleeing Gaza, similar to what we have done for other people who have fled crisis," Mr Duar said.
Gaza's last exit point, the Rafah crossing, is controlled by the Israeli and Egyptian authorities.
They continue to impose tight restrictions on who can cross, but the border area has been closed to civilians since May.
