Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has joined with the leaders of Australia and Canada to express grave concern about "indications that Israel is planning a ground offensive" into the southern Gazan city of Rafah.
They say an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed", but that "cannot be one sided" and "Hamas must lay down its arms and release all hostages immediately".
On Wednesday, Reuters reported Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying his country's military would follow through with an offensive in Rafah despite international pressure not to. Earlier this week, Israel launched air strikes against the city as it rescued two hostages that had been taken during Hamas' incursion into Israeli territory on October 8.
"We will fight until complete victory and this includes a powerful action in Rafah as well, after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones," Netanyahu reportedly said on his Telegram account.
Prime Ministers Luxon, Anthony Albanese of Australia and Justin Trudeau of Canada said a military operation in Rafah would be "catastrophic".
"About 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area, including many of our citizens and their families. With the humanitarian situation in Gaza already dire, the impacts on Palestinian civilians from an expanded military operation would be devastating. We urge the Israeli government not to go down this path. There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go."
The trio say Israel "must listen to its friends and it must listen to the international community".
"The protection of civilians is paramount and a requirement under international humanitarian law. Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas.
"An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed. Hostages must be released. The need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza has never been greater. Rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief must be provided to civilians.
"The International Court of Justice has been clear: Israel must ensure the delivery of basic services and essential humanitarian assistance and must protect civilians. The Court’s decisions on provisional measures are binding."
Hamas must also "lay down its arms and release all hostages immediately," said the Prime Ministers.
"We again unequivocally condemn Hamas for its terror attacks on Israel on October 7," they said.
"Ultimately, a negotiated political solution is needed to achieve lasting peace and security. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand remain steadfast in their commitment to a two-state solution, including the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, where Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in peace, security, and dignity."
Foreign Affairs Winston Peters spoke to media after the statement was released.
He said he spoke with Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong on Thursday morning, and she was in contact with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, and they synchronised the call between the Prime Ministers.
The statement was prompted by "concern about the potential action in Rafah and we wanted to make it clear as daylight how we feel".
"The level of inhumanity is out of all proportion now and whether it is justified or not, the reality is we can't justify this."
He said he wasn't being critical of Israel's "outrage" after October 7, but "this is now way, and has been for some time, out of hand".
There was hope and expectation among countries that Israel will listen.
A statement released on X by Albanese referred to Luxon as the Prime Minister of Canada. It was then deleted and correctly called him the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, the group that entered Israel on October 7 and killed about 1200 people and took hundreds others hostage.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, more than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed as Israel strikes back. Nearly 70,000 have also been wounded.
On Monday, after Israel conducted its air strikes, Luxon said Israel shouldn't go into Rafah "without ensuring the safety and support of civilians there".
"Palestinian civilians cannot pay the price of Israel trying to defeat Hamas. There are 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah at the moment. We are extremely concerned about that," he said.
"Our preference is that there would be a complete pause in hostilities, as you well know. We want to see a sustainable ceasefire emerge in the Middle East. For that to happen, there has to be a pause, there has to be humanitarian assistance to get into there. We are supporting all the efforts of the others parties around in the region to drive towards that."
Luxon said that Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was talking with the Israeli Government "to convey that position very clearly that our concern is that they do not proceed with operations in Rafah".
Peters later posted on X saying he had met Israel's Ambassador to New Zealand Ran Yaakoby to discuss the October 7 attack by Hamas, "developments on the ground in Israel & Gaza since", "how a lasting, peaceful outcome to the conflict might be found", and the New Zealand-Israel relationship.
