Foreign Minister Penny Wong has welcomed a US-led ceasefire deal as she defended Australia's vote in support of Palestine at the United Nations and the role of the International Criminal Court.
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The three-stage offer calls for a ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and Gaza's reconstruction.
"The death and destruction is horrific, and the human suffering is unacceptable. We reiterate to the Netanyahu government, this cannot continue," Senator Wong told a parliamentary hearing on Monday.
At least 17,000 children are unaccompanied by families, about 10 per cent of infants under the age of two in Rafah have malnutrition and more than 50,000 children across Gaza are malnourished, department deputy secretary Rod Brazier said.
The foreign minister called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to protect civilians, for Hamas to release all hostages and for Israel to allow aid to flow at scale.
"We welcome the current ceasefire proposal," she said.
Labor and the opposition remain split on the timing of recognising a Palestinian state after the federal government supported a motion in the United Nations General Assembly that gave it extra rights but did not determine statehood.
Australia is willing to consider recognising Palestinian statehood during peace negotiations to lock in a two-state solution as opposed to waiting for a peace settlement to be reached with Israel, which is the path the Liberals support.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham criticised the government for supporting the UN resolution, saying it paved the path for statehood without addressing issues such as Hamas remaining a threat.
"We do not believe, at this point in time, there should be recognition bilaterally or admission to membership of the United Nations," he said.
The resolution noted it was up to the UN Security Council to admit Palestine as a full member, which it recently shut down after the US used its veto power to torpedo the push.
A Palestinian state could not threaten Israel's security as a precursor to recognition and Australia wanted to see reforms within the Palestinian Authority as a governance structure is set up without Hamas, Senator Wong said.
The decision remained a matter for the security council, foreign affairs department officials said as they declined to elaborate on the threshold for Australia to recognise statehood.
Australia was a respected international voice and while it could not solve the war in the Middle East, it could add its weight to peace processes, Senator Wong said.
"The world is witnessing a tragedy," she said.
"A two-state solution is ultimately the only path to peace and security for Israel."
She also noted the decision by former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison to brand West Jerusalem Israel's capital unilaterally was "undermining your own argument by pre-determining a final status issue".
Labor reversed the decision, keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv.
There has also been friction over support for the International Criminal Court, which is tasked with prosecuting humanity's greatest crimes including genocide.
The Liberals have slammed the chief prosecutor's decision to seek arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and defence minister alongside three Hamas officials for suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Senator Wong and her department used the hearing to launch a defence of the international court, saying it played a vital role in upholding law.
"We cannot insist that China abide by international legal decisions in the South China Sea but threaten to pull out of the International Criminal Court," she said.
A national interest analysis that supported the statute when it was ratified in 2002 was still relevant today, international law branch assistant secretary Marie-Charlotte McKenna said.
"It's in Australia's interest for international law to be upheld," she said.
Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1200 people and taking more than 200 hostages, according to Tel Aviv, and Israel's counter-offensive has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians and injured more than 80,000, Gaza's health ministry says.
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