Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Regardless of people's political views, I think I speak for all of us when I say it is impossible to absorb the harrowing images in Israel and Gaza with anything less than distress and horror. Australia welcomes the G7 foreign ministers' statement supporting humanitarian pauses and corridors in Gaza to facilitate urgently needed assistance and civilian movement. We join with the G7 in its condemnation of Hamas's terror attacks and call for the immediate release of all hostages without preconditions. Australia also reiterates our call on Israel to observe international law and the rules of war and protect civilian life. We also join with the G7 in indicating that the extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians is unacceptable. It undermines security in the West Bank and threatens prospects for a lasting peace. What is particularly notable about the G7 statement is the aspiration that Australia shares, which is that the imperative of an enduring peace and a two-state solution. (Time expired)