Australia is under mounting pressure to immediately restore aid for the United Nations Palestinian relief agency, with warnings of a humanitarian collapse in Gaza.
The Australian government joined a slate of other nations in freezing funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in late January after Tel Aviv accused aid workers of participating in the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.
Since then, Director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza Thomas White has spoken to Australian politicians about restoring funds as no other provider has the scale or capacity to replace UNRWA.
The aid agency has dismissed the accused employees, deployed three internal investigators to conduct inquiries, launched a review into whether UNRWA is doing enough to remain neutral, and engaged with the Israeli government.
However, the money remains suspended.
A report released by UNICEF has found one in six children aged younger than two are acutely malnourished in north Gaza while UN rapporteurs have said they have never seen a population made to go so hungry so quickly.
A joint statement from independent MPs Zoe Daniel, Monique Ryan, Allegra Spender, Helen Haines, Sophie Scamps, Zali Steggall and Andrew Wilkie has called on the government to either deliver aid via an alternative pathway or provide direction on what UNRWA needs to do.
"(But Mr White) shared that UNRWA is unclear what more it can do for funding to be restored before the situation in Gaza becomes even more dire," the statement read.
"Unless international partner funding to UNRWA is restored by the end of March, UNRWA will not be able to pay its workers and its humanitarian operations in Gaza will collapse."
Independent Senator David Pocock has gone further and called for the immediate restoration of funding to the agency.
In the months since October 7, Israel has unleashed a bombing campaign, a blockade and a ground invasion that has killed almost 30,000 Palestinians, left millions of people homeless and pushed many more to the brink of starvation, according to the UN and the local health ministry.
The situation sparked student rallies across Australia on Thursday, with protesters calling for a ceasefire.
In Victoria, Premier Jacinta Allan has been forced to cancel an upcoming Iftar dinner following growing calls for a boycott over Australia's response.
"Our role here in Victoria is to support the community not add to distress and grief," Ms Allan told reporters in Ballarat.
Islamic groups in Victoria and NSW announced they would skip dinners in their respective states because of the suffering and oppression of Palestinians and the planned assault on Rafah by Israel coinciding with Ramadan.
Islamic Council of Victoria president Adel Salman said the community was in "no mood" for a celebratory event.
An open letter calling on Victoria's Muslim community to boycott the dinner received more than 100 endorsements.
