The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has raised the issue of Australian war graves bulldozed by the Israeli military in Gaza directly with the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog.
Dozens of Australian war graves – mostly soldiers who died in Palestine during the second world war – were bulldozed by the Israel Defense Forces across April and May last year. Satellite images show the southern corner of the Gaza Commonwealth War Cemetery being obliterated, with headstones destroyed and soil pushed by machinery into an earthen berm.
The majority of graves in that corner of the cemetery – sections A and B – hold the remains of Australian soldiers.
After Guardian reporting last week, the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv raised the issue with both the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs and its defence ministry.
This week, the prime minister directly raised the issue with Herzog during meetings in Canberra, impressing upon the president the importance of repairs being conducted as soon as possible. The Australian government has confirmed its nationals’ graves will be restored when it is safe to do so.
Asked about the desecration of Australian graves in Gaza, Penny Wong told Senate estimates: “All of the graves and places where Australians have fallen and are interred have great significance for our country, particularly for the Australian veterans community, but for all of us.
“It is a matter of great importance to the government, it is a matter of great importance to the veterans community, and we have been clear with Israel about the importance these graves hold for Australians.”
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Wilma Spence’s father, Albert Kemp, a decorated Anzac who died in Palestine in the second world war, is buried at the cemetery.
In a moving interview on the weekend, Spence told Guardian Australia of her family’s grief and shock at learning of the destruction of her father’s grave.
Spence said she still hadn’t received any information from the Australian government about her father’s grave, and was told by the Australian War Graves Commission that it could not discuss individual graves with her.
She wanted to know whether the prime minister asked Herzog to pay for the cemetery’s restoration, and questioned why the government was not stronger in condemning the destruction.
“I just think why are they not saying anything – that’s what’s getting me,” Spence said. “Where are the press releases? Why didn’t they say anything as soon as they found out?”
Independent senator for the ACT, David Pocock, raised the issue in Senate estimates, and told the Guardian it was “unacceptable that the IDF has bulldozed Australian war graves in Gaza”.
“I’m also concerned by the apparent timidity of the government to hold the Israeli government to account and to call on them to fully fund the restoration. Why should the Commonwealth War Graves Commission be responsible for restoration?
“When you look at satellite imagery, and the witness accounts, it seems clear that the cemetery has been bulldozed, but we still don’t have the full picture on the extent to which the graves have been disturbed.”
Pocock said the Australians’ war graves were sacred places.
“And I think there is an expectation that when they are desecrated, we use every tool at our disposal to hold those responsible to account,” he said.
The Tuffah area of Gaza City, in which the cemetery sits, has been shelled throughout the current conflict. But more systematic and extensive damage was caused by military earthmoving in April and May of last year.
Essam Jarada, Gaza cemetery’s former caretaker, whose home is also close by, said two bulldozing operations took place at the cemetery in April and May 2025.
“An area of slightly less than one dunum [1,000 sq metres] was bulldozed inside the cemetery walls, specifically in the corner of the cemetery which contains graves of Australian soldiers. The bulldozing covered the area from the bench where foreign visitors used to sit up to the memorial monument. Bulldozers also created sand mounds that were used as earth barriers,” Jarada said.
“I witnessed this bulldozing after the Israeli army withdrew from the area, around late April or early May.”
After being shown satellite images of the cemetery, the IDF said that it had been forced to take defensive measures during military operations.
“During IDF operations in the area, terrorists attempted to attack IDF troops and took cover in structures close to the cemetery. In response to ensure the safety of IDF troops operating on the ground, operational measures were taken in the area to neutralize identified threats.”
In response to a series of questions, a spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs told the Guardian there had been “significant damage” to the Gaza War Cemetery, “and this includes the graves of Australians”.
“The Office of Australian War Graves is very concerned by the damage to the cemetery,” they said.
“The Commonwealth War Graves Commission plans to secure and repair the cemetery as soon as it is safe to do so, however, it is expected that full reconstruction will take some time as the immediate post-conflict priority for works will be directed to humanitarian efforts.”
The Guardian has sought comment from the office of the Israeli president.
