While the government vows to block the return of Australian women and children from Syria, hundreds of Australians who have served with the Israeli Defence Force face little scrutiny on their return – despite serious allegations of war crimes in Gaza.

In a week in which we have seen the Prime Minister vow to block the return of 34 Australian women and children from a Syrian refugee camp, there is another group we have heard much less about – the hundreds of Australians reported to be fighting with the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).

According to figures obtained by Declassified UK, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) says there are 621 individuals from Australia who have been, or are fighting with it. And as Palestinian writer Refaat Ibrahim revealed on this site a month ago official data from Israel disclosed “the presence of nearly 50,000 soldiers of foreign nationalities actively serving in its army,” with the “United States topp[ing] the list with 12,135 soldiers.” Meanwhile the Israeli government is, according to Ibrahim, busy recruiting another 30,000 to top up its resources.

Generally speaking the Australian government is not keen on Australian residents heading to overseas conflicts, except of course when the Australian military is engaged.

The Department of Home Affairs told The Nightly in August 2024 that the “Government encourages all Australians who seek to serve with the armed forces........

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