‘Catalyst’: Wong’s hope after Middle East breakthrough

Penny Wong has welcomed news that Israel and Hezbollah have struck a ceasefire, saying she hopes it “is a catalyst for a broader ceasefire in the region”.

Israeli forces have been battling the Islamist militants in southern Lebanon for months, killing much of the group’s upper echelon.

But it has come at a high cost to civilians, with more than 3750 reported killed and some 15,700 more injured.

The Foreign Minister said on Wednesday people in Israel and Lebanon “will welcome” the breakthrough.

“The people of Lebanon will welcome this ceasefire, the people of Israel will welcome this ceasefire,” Senator Wong told reporters in Canberra.

“What I would say is that we hope that this is a catalyst for a broader ceasefire in the region, and we look forward to the day when there is a ceasefire too in Gaza.”

The Israeli and US governments confirmed the deal late on Tuesday (local time), with Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel “will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation.”

“Together, we will continue until victory,” the Israeli Prime Minister said.

“In full co-ordination with the United States, we retain complete military freedom of action.

“Should Hezbollah violate the agreement or attempt to rearm, we will strike decisively.”

Mr Netanyahu said his country’s military action against the Iran-backed group “set it back decades” and had “eliminated … its top leaders, destroyed most of its rockets and missiles, neutralised thousands of fighters, and obliterated years of terror infrastructure near our border”.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden said the deal was “designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities”.

“What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again,” the US President said.

“Civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities.”

Tens of thousands of residents were forced from their homes in northern Israel after Hezbollah began shelling civilians areas in northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas, which Israel is battling in Gaza.

Israel’s casualty-heavy war against Hamas has killed upward of 40,000 people in Gaza and displaced nearly all 2.1 million inhabitants of the densely populated Palestinian territory.

Australia and other Western allies have long called on Mr Netanyahu’s government to do more to limit civilian deaths and get more supplies into the Palestinian territory.

In her remarks on Wednesday, Senator Wong reiterated the Albanese government’s call for a ceasefire in war-torn Gaza.

“We’ve been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza for over 11 months now, and we see every week the death toll rising, more children, more women,” she said.

“We again join with the overwhelming majority of the international community with a ceasefire in Gaza, but today, we are very pleased to see that there is a ceasefire with Hezbollah and that the people of Lebanon and Israel can know some peace.”

Israel launched its assault on Hamas after the group’s horrific October 7 terrorist attacks last year.

The militants killed about 1200 people and took hundreds more hostage, some of whom still remain in captivity.

The October 7 attacks represent the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.