Foreign Minister Penny Wong has not ruled out recognising Palestinian statehood at the United Nations’ gathering in September after French President Emmanuel Macron declared he would become the first leader of a major Western country to do so in a bid to revive the Middle East peace process.

Macron’s surprise unilateral announcement spurred Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to issue his strongest denunciation of Israel’s war against terror group Hamas, saying “Gaza has gone beyond the world’s worst fears”.