Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong to meet with Israeli families as war crisis deepens

The foreign affairs minister has flown to Jordan amid rising internal pressure over the Israel-Hamas conflict, with a ceasefire remaining top of the agenda.

Prominent Jewish groups have lashed Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong’s decision not to visit the site of the October 7 Hamas attacks during a high-stakes peace trip to the Middle East, while internal pressure mounts from Labor MPs to condemn extremist Israeli settlers.

On Monday morning, Senator Wong departed from Adelaide Airport to Jordan ahead of a week-long tour of Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates, where she will meet with families of Israeli hostages and Palestinian victims of settler violence.

During her trip, Senator Wong will meet relatives of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza for more than 100 days – but will not visit the kibbutz in southern Israel targeted by Hamas terrorists on October 7.

Shadow minister for foreign affairs Simon Birmingham labelled Senator Wong’s itinerary “half hearted”, particularly the decision not to visit the site of the October 7 attacks.

“The failure to visit any of the sites of the Hamas attacks will disappoint many and deprive Senator Wong of a full appreciation of the atrocities committed,” he said.

But Senator Wong defended the itinerary, saying she would be meeting with survivors of the attack despite not visiting the site itself.

“I think all of these meetings are about engaging with a wide cross section of perspectives and parties in the region,” Senator Wong said.

“And to quote Australia’s view, but also to listen, and it is an opportunity to do that.”

Senator Birmingham’s sentiment was echoed by local Jewish Communities, who labelled Senator Wong’s decision to not travel to massacre sites a “serious error of judgement”.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has departed for Jordan, Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the United Arab Emirates on a diplomatic mission. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Russell Millard

“The Foreign Minister’s decision to not travel to the scene of Hamas’s atrocities in southern Israel is insulting and deeply concerning,“ Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive officers Peter Wertheim and Alex Ryvchin said.

“Personally inspecting the south and witnessing the carnage and destruction would not only convey Australia’s support, it is essential to understanding the depth of evil that Israel faces and the necessity of its war to defeat Hamas.

“We frequently hear about the depth of the alliance between the two countries and the long history of solidarity between Australian Labor and the people of Israel. This is the time to show that this is more than mere words.”

The Australian Jewish Associated described the move as an “outrageous insult” toward local Jewish communities, saying it would have been “preferable for Senator Wong not to go than to behave like this”.

“The AJA has received feedback from members of the Jewish community in Australia, as well as contacts in Israel, expressing profound shock and disappointment (at the decision to not visit the site),” AJA President David Adler said.

“This contrasts with senior representatives of other western governments.”

The minister said she planned to express Australia’s profound concern for the safety of Gaza locals and reiterate calls for safe and sustained access to relief for citizens in desperate need.

Senator Wong said the country was “open and willing” to provide further humanitarian assistance in the region.

However, she said a ceasefire could not be “one-sided” and said Australia would use its “respected voice” to urge Hamas to lay down its arms.

Senator Wong did not directly address comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he vowed to continue the war in Gaza, saying: “Nobody will stop us – not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anybody else.”

“We are not a central player in this but we are a respected voice, and as a friend of Israel we will continue to assert that international law matters,” Senator Wong said.

“As I have repeatedly said, we know what Hamas is – it is a terrorist organisation. We are a democracy, so too is Israel … we hold ourselves to higher standards and those standards include the application of international law.”

Israel’s military campaign against Hamas has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians since October 7, according to Gaza health officials. Picture: AFP.

Mr Birmingham has previously hit out at the federal government for “not applying important sanctions” against Hamas after Australia voted in favour of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire at the UN General Assembly, a notable split from the US which voted against the resolution, and the UK, which abstained.

“Senator Wong will no doubt hear of frustration at the increasingly confusing stance of the Albanese Government, which has said one thing about disabling Hamas but voted in contradictory ways at the UN,” Mr Birmingham said.

Internal pressure mounts over West Bank

On Monday, Labor MP Julian Hill called for tougher action against “extremist settlers” in the West Bank, including visa bans.

Senator Wong said Australia condemned settler violence but “would not speculate on sanctions” for the region.

“In our efforts to use our voice to advocate for a pathway out of this conflict, we have made very clear that one of the priorities must be to avoid regional escalation,” she said.

“Attacking Palestinians where they have a right to be is the wrong thing to do, and certainly not conducive to ensuring there is no escalation.

“In terms of (Mr Hill’s) calls (for visa bans), we don’t speculate on sanctions.”The trip comes days after the US and UK launched a series of air strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen in response to dozens of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

In a joint statement with the leaders of nine other nations, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia would not hesitate to “defend lives and protect the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats”.

On Monday, Senator Wong backed the PM’s position.

“We are right to be there. We are involved in a non-operational personnel capacity,” she said.

“What I would say to people is that we have an interest in ensuring that international borders and international law is observed, and that is what Australia is contributing.”

Originally published as Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong to meet with Israeli families as war crisis deepens