“With all due respect, the minister for foreign affairs represents Australia and I represent Israel,” he said. “According to our information and my knowledge, the humanitarian situation is fair.” Maimon said there was “no moral equivalence” between Israel and Hamas: “We are the victims, we are not the aggressors.” Maimon said he was engaged “in very close discussions with senior Australian officials and Israel will do its utmost in order to make sure that all foreign nationals will be safe and will be able to evacuate Gaza if they wish to do so”.