Penny Wong affirms ‘solidarity’ with Israel as she meets with Hamas hostage relatives

The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has met with Israeli relatives of hostages held by Hamas and assured them that she will continue to use Australia’s voice to call for the immediate, unconditional and safe return of all hostages.

Wong arrived in Israel late on Tuesday for a series of meetings, including with the Israeli foreign affairs minister, Israel Katz, and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog.

In a statement on X afterwards, Katz expressed his “dear gratitude” to Wong “for her expression of solidarity with Israel and her crystal clear condemnation of the atrocities committed by the Hamas on October 7th”. He said it was a “constructive meeting”.

Officials who did not want to be named said Wong had used the meetings with Katz and Herzog to reaffirm “Australia’s solidarity with Israel following the atrocities of 7 October” and “noted that she continued to call for the unconditional and immediate release of hostages in her engagements with countries of influence in the region”.

Wong told Katz and Herzog that Australia recognised Israel’s right to defend itself but officials say the minister also “reinforced the view of Australia and other friends of Israel that how it does so matters”. According to this account, Wong told them that Australia placed importance on international law and that democracies held themselves to higher standards.

Wong told Katz and Herzog that the Australian people had “strong concerns about the civilian death toll and the dire humanitarian situation”.

She backed steps towards a ceasefire but added this could not be “one-sided”. Wong also was reported to have told Katz and Herzog that Australia wanted to see a pathway out of the conflict and toward “a just and enduring peace that enables both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security”.

Wong also met on Tuesday night in Jerusalem with the chair of Israel’s Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, Dr Cochav Elkayam-Levy. Officials said Wong “condemned Hamas’ use of sexual violence as a weapon to maximise terror and fear, and committed to supporting the commission’s ongoing work”.

More than 24,000 people are reported by the Palestinian authorities to have been killed in Gaza – two-thirds of them women and children – since Israel began its military response to Hamas’s 7 October attack on southern Israel when about 1,200 people were killed.

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After talks in Jordan on Tuesday, Wong announced $21.5m in new funding “directed to conflict-affected populations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and to address the ongoing regional refugee crisis, with a focus on women and children”.

The package means Australia has now pledged about $46m in humanitarian assistance since October.

Wong will also travel to the occupied West Bank and meet with communities affected by Israeli settler violence. She will wrap up the trip with a visit to the United Arab Emirates.