Foreign Minister Penny Wong has expressed hope a ceasefire can be reached in Gaza with Israel and Hamas on the precipice of signing an agreement.
Hamas said it was waiting for Israel to submit maps of where it would withdraw within the besieged enclave after marathon talks in Qatar.
A deal was close, US President Joe Biden said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been working on a resolution for months and president-elect Donald Trump had been clear about his expectation for an agreement, Senator Wong said.
“All of us are hopeful that we can see the ceasefire that we have been advocating for and so many around the world have sought for so long,” she told ABC radio on Wednesday.
About 100 hostages – including the bodies of dozens predicted dead – would be returned by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian detainees in Israel.
Hamas took about 250 hostages and killed 1200 people when it attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza following Israel’s subsequent invasion, according to Palestinian officials.
A week-long ceasefire in November 2023 resulted in the release of about half of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian detainees.
Mr Trump has said there would be “hell to pay” if a deal to release hostages wasn’t sorted by the time he took office on January 20.
However, the deal doesn’t have the support of all Israeli ministers, with Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatening to quit, saying the agreement would be a capitulation to Hamas and threaten other Israeli citizens.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is hopeful the ceasefire deal can be achieved. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
Labor frontbencher Ed Husic said there were promising signs of a ceasefire, which should allow an increase in aid to Gaza.
“There are a lot of members of the international community as well as, clearly, Palestinians and Israelis that want to see an end to this conflict,” Mr Husic said.
“We need to see the hostages released, we need civilians protected and we also need to see aid urgently go into Gaza where it is needed desperately.”
Some two million Gazans face starvation.
Israel has denied aid entering the strip, according to the United Nations while the World Health Organisation said Gaza’s last functioning hospitals are critically low on fuel and medical supplies.
Eight newborns died of hypothermia in December and the start of January and 74 children from brutal winter conditions in 2025, the UN said.