Australian foreign minister Wong calls for permanent Gaza ceasefire

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has spoken out in favour of a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza war.

“Our position is that we want to see a sustainable ceasefire and that we see an international humanitarian, immediate humanitarian ceasefire as a step towards that,” Wong said on Monday before departing on a trip to Israel and Jordan, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates.

But, she added, “No ceasefire can be one sided and no ceasefire can be unconditional.”

Wong also called for safe, unhindered and permanent access for humanitarian aid and better protection for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. She also wants to use her trip to the region to campaign for a way out of the current conflict and a lasting peace in the form of a two-state solution.

During her visit to Israel, Wong also wants to meet relatives of the hostages and survivors of the massacre committed by terrorists from the the Islamist militant organization Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7 last year.