Foreign Minister Penny Wong to advocate for pathway out of Israel-Gaza conflict during Middle East trip

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has defended her decision to not visit the sites of the October 7 Hamas attacks during a trip to the Middle East, saying her focus will be advocating for a pathway out of the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Senator Wong will fly to Jordan on Monday ahead of a week-long tour of Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates.

She will use the trip, which marks the first made by an Australian foreign minister since 2016, to push for a pathway out of the conflict in Gaza and call for steps towards a sustainable ceasefire.

The Foreign Minister will not be visiting the massacre sites of October 7 — the day the war broke out — on her visit to Israel but will meet the survivors of the attack and their families in Jerusalem.

“I’ll be meeting with survivors of that attack as well as families of hostages and that will be important,” Senator Wong said before her departure on Monday.

“Australia is not a central player in the Middle East, but we are a respected voice. I’ll be using our voice to advocate for a pathway out of this conflict.”

Australia shifted its position on the Israel-Hamas conflict in December, calling for both sides to urgently agree to another ceasefire and to release the remaining Israeli citizens taken hostage.

It came after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attacks on Israel by Hamas in Federal Parliament in October, calling the terror group the enemy of all peace-loving Palestinian people.

At the time, he said Australia “stands with Israel and recognises its inherent right to defend itself” but has since strengthened its stance on Israel’s war against Hamas.

Senator Wong, however, has been vocal in calling for a ceasefire since October.

“This is a conflict which has been devastating and tragic and so many Australians with different perspectives are deeply worried about it,” she said.

“I will be focusing on advocating Australia’s position, our priority on international humanitarian assistance (and) our priority on international humanitarian law. I will be engaging with many parties in the region.”

Labor backbencher Julian Hill urged the Government to take stronger action, including making it illegal for Australians to fund settlement activity.

“Firm words and stern finger-pointing are not enough,” he wrote on X on Monday.

“The international community needs to attach consequences for settlers and Israeli authorities of continued illegal settlement activity. Visa bans and other measures.

“Australia should also investigate if tax deductible vehicles can funnel money to support West Bank settler activity, and consider making it illegal for Australians to fund settlement activity.”

The Prime Minister said Senator Wong’s trip would support the diplomatic efforts that would be required to have durable peace in the Middle East.

“What’s occurring after the Hamas attack on innocent civilians in Israel and then the devastation that we’ve seen in Gaza is something that is of concern to the global community,” Mr Albanese told ABC’s RN Breakfast.

“This visit is about us being able to express our voice and for Penny Wong to see firsthand and to have those discussions face to face.”

Shadow immigration minister Dan Tehan criticised Senator Wong’s decision to not visit the massacre sites, calling it a “missed opportunity”.

“While it’s welcome that Penny Wong is travelling to the Middle East, I think it’s taken too long for her to do so,” Mr Tehan told Sky News.

“She has to get the balance right and it’s very hard to see how she’s going to get the balance right if she doesn’t travel to the sites where those heinous Hamas massacres took place.”

Sunday marked 100 days since the terror group Hamas killed 1200 Israelis and took another 240 hostage.

Israel has since bombarded Gaza with air strikes which local authorities say have killed more than 23,000 people and displaced 1.9 million, or 85 per cent of the besieged strip’s population.