How NZ has responded to the Israel-Gaza crisis - and the tensions that complicate it
Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Balancing humanitarian concerns, geopolitical tension, and a belief in international law, the New Zealand Government’s responses to the Israel-Gaza War has been a tightrope act. Political reporter Glenn McConnell explains the response.
As the Israel-Gaza War has gone on, the New Zealand Government has been under pressure over how it responds to this humanitarian crisis.
For New Zealand, the response has been complicated by competing tensions.
On the side of Israel, the US - led by the unpredictable President Donald Trump - wields significant power and is seen as a traditional friend of New Zealand.
But on the other hand, Israel stands accused of severe breaches of international law. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces charges of crimes against humanity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says New Zealand would enforce that arrest warrant.
New Zealand styles itself as an independent and principled voice on foreign policy, and a strong supporter of international law with a ruled-based world order. This means our ministers have spoken in support of the International Criminal Court, and against Israel’s continued efforts to occupy more Palestinian land.
But, as Otago University international relations professor Robert Patman noted, New Zealand has also been hesitant to say anything to earn the ire of Trump.
These competing issues have impacted how New Zealand has responded to the Israel-Gaza War.
Speaking out, with allies
New Zealand has made public statements critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
When this happens, the statements are crafted by diplomats and co-signed by New Zealand’s allies as part of a joint statement. This acts to add more weight to the critique, but also shield any one country from push back from Israel or its close friend, the US.
Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Winston Peters co-signed a letter with 27 other countries to pressure Israel over its attacks on Palestinians seeking aid.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have shot and killed hundreds of civilians seeking aid from Israel’s own facilities, the letter said.
“The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,” the foreign ministers, from countries including Australia, the UK and France, said.
There have been other, similar joint statements. Earlier in the war, when few allies would be critical of Israel, Luxon partnered with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Australia’s Anthony Albanese to voice concerns about the humanitarian situation.
All of these statements have stressed the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and called for both Israel and the militant group Hamas, which controlled Gaza, to agree to a ceasefire.
Each statement has stressed that Hamas must release the Israeli hostages it took on October 7, 2023, when it invaded Israel. And New Zealand’s leaders have strongly condemned that terror attack, which targeted Israeli civilians.
New Zealand considers Hamas to be a terrorist organisation.
Specific sanctions targeting Israeli leaders
In June, New Zealand joined Australia, the UK, Canada and Norway in imposing sanctions on two far-right ministers of Israel’s government.
The sanctions targeted Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, prohibiting them from travelling to New Zealand.
Peters said this wasn’t intended to be a sanction “against the Israeli people” or against its government. He said their specific comments, which encouraged Israeli settlers to forcibly and illegally remove Palestinians from the West Bank, were the reason for these sanctions.
Separately, New Zealand has also banned certain “extremist settlers” from travelling here. These sanctions were imposed as a response to Israel’s actions in other Palestinian territories, such as the West Bank, and not Gaza.
Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has proposed a law change that would impose broad sanctions against Israel.
She said that was justified, given New Zealand enacted the Russia Sanctions Act in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In both cases, she said those sanctions were justified to defend the integrity of international law in cases where the United Nations Security Council has been immobilised by one of its permanent members (in these cases, Russia and the US.)
She said most New Zealanders would support sanctions against Israel.
“Every single weekend hundreds, if not thousands, of regular people mobilise to implore our Government to do more.
“I mean, it spits in the face of our legacy of standing loud and proud against apartheid in South Africa and many of the other things that we like to claim as part of our identity,” she told Stuff, on Tuesday.
All Opposition parties have said they would support Swarbrick’s sanctions bill.
Aid and visas
In response to the invasion of Ukraine, New Zealand provided more than $100 million worth of aid to Ukraine.
To help Ukrainians, New Zealand also created the Special Ukraine Visa to give residency to Ukrainians who had family in New Zealand.
In the case of Gaza, there has been no visa created to assist Palestinians. Last year, Parliament received a petition to create a special visa for Gazans with family in New Zealand - but the Government has not done so.
The Government has provided $37.5 million to fund humanisation responses in Gaza.
What does the prime minister think?
Luxon, on Monday, said the latest photos to come out of Gaza - showing children starving - was “incredibly heartbreaking”.
“We have now plumbed new depths. We are seeing catastrophic humanitarian suffering on a massive scale,” he said.
He then reiterated New Zealand’s position. He said Hamas started the most recent war, when it took hostages and killed innocent Israelis on October 7. He said they must release those hostages.
“Equally, we’re saying to Israel, you know that you have a responsibility to make sure that there is unfettered access to humanitarian assistance,” he added.
Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, this week claimed there was no “policy of starvation” occurring in Gaza. Even Trump doubted that, when he told reporters the photos of dead and malnourished children indicated they were “very hungry”.
“I want him to make sure they get the food,” Trump said. “I want to make sure they get the food.”
Over the coming weeks, Stuff is inviting readers to submit their thoughts on the conflict in Gaza. You can can read Editor-in-Chief Keith Lynch’s Op-ed here and following our reporting from Gaza here.