About a quarter of Gazans offered safe haven in Australia since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks are Christian and 80 per cent hold a post-school qualification, Palestine’s local top diplomat has revealed, pushing back against suggestions they pose a security risk.

Amid a heated fight over the adequacy of security screening, Palestine’s de facto ambassador, Izzat Abdulhadi, said the hundreds of Gazans already sheltering here were unlikely to return to their homeland, where vast swathes of the enclave have been destroyed.