Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I think all senators would have been pleased that, after a week's long international push to allow safe passage of civilians from Gaza, the Rapha crossing opened. Of those who crossed the border, 21 were Australian citizens, with two permanent residents and two family members. They were met by DFAT officials in Egypt who supported them, including with accommodation and onwards travel. Over the weekend, we saw most of these people return home. This included a family of four who landed in Adelaide and a family of three who landed in Melbourne. About a dozen people flew into Sydney last night, with lots of hugs and tears at the airport. Despite this progress, it is still extremely difficult to get people out of Gaza. DFAT is assisting nearly 80 individuals in Gaza, and we continue to press for them to be allowed to cross the border to safety. This has been a high priority for some time now for Minister Wong and her department, and I know that they'll keep working hard on it.