Prime Minister and Opposition Leader mark October 7 in Parliament House

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Prime Minister has marked the two-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks on Israel in his opening remarks during question time. Anthony Albanese says it was a day of pain and terror for Jewish people around the world.

Transcript

00:00Two years on, we remember those who were lost on that day. The largest loss of Jewish life

00:07on a single day since the Holocaust. Over 1,200 lives taken without mercy. We remember

00:15Australian Galit Karban, who was tragically among them. Galit's brother, Danny Meishner,

00:21joins us in the gallery today and I'll meet with him tomorrow. I say to him, we hold you

00:28in our hearts. We also hold in our hearts all who are still being held hostage. Those

00:34who remain alive and those who, tragically, not only had their freedom stolen from them,

00:40but their lives as well. We must break this cycle of violence and build something better.

00:46Australia has consistently been part of the international pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza,

00:52the return of the hostages for aid to flow and a two-state solution. Australia welcomes

00:57President Trump's plan to bring peace to Gaza after almost two years of conflict and a

01:03devastating loss of civilian life. A plan that calls on Hamas to lay down its arms and to

01:08immediately release all remaining hostages. In our original motion here, in 2023, carried

01:18back with the support, bipartisanly, of both parties of government or potential government.

01:25We explicitly recognise that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people nor their legitimate

01:31needs and aspirations. We have never wavered from that stance. That is the only path to enduring

01:37peace and security in the Middle East. A future without Hamas and a future that encompasses

01:43two states, the State of Israel and the State of Palestine, living side by side within internationally

01:49recognised borders and recognising each other's right to live in peace and security. That is

01:56the possibility of the future that is before us. It is our duty to do everything in our power

02:02to seize it.

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