Simon Birmingham to lead cross-party delegation to Israel

The shadow minister for foreign affairs will lead a cross-party delegation to Israel, meeting with Palestinian and Israeli officials. 

The ABC has confirmed Simon Birmingham will be joined by Victorian Labor backbenchers Josh Burns and Michelle Ananda-Rajah.

The delegation is slated to include meetings with Israeli government officials, representatives of the Palestinian Authority and humanitarian organisations. 

Mr Birmingham criticised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for not having travelled to Israel already and also took aim at his ministry — none of whom had decided to join the delegation. 

"The shocking terrorist attacks of 7 October saw the largest killing of Jewish people on a single day since the Holocaust and, with the continued holding of hostages by Hamas, a trauma that is enduring for Israel, its people and Jewish people around the world," he said in a statement to the ABC.

"As Shadow Foreign Minister I am pleased to have the opportunity to visit Israel, demonstrating our enduring support for Israel's right to exist and its inherent right to self-defence, including the removal of Hamas as a terrorist threat."

More than 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers were killed in the Hamas-led attack and some 240 were taken hostage.

Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out two months ago, 16,248 Palestinians have been killed and more than 42,000 wounded, according to the besieged enclave's Ministry of Health.

The delegation is not the first trip to Israel by an Australian politician since the October 7 attacks: former prime minister Scott Morrison visited with former British prime minister Boris Johnson. 

The assistant foreign affairs minister also announced on Thursday afternoon that he would visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israel, Qatar and Egypt "this week".

In a statement, Tim Watts said he would use meetings with the Palestinian Authority and senior UN representatives in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to discuss the humanitarian response to the ongoing war.

The minister said he would continue Australia's advocacy for a two-state solution and steps towards a ceasefire.

Israel raises travel warning for Australia

This week, Israel raised its travel warning for Australia, along with a range of countries across Europe and South America, out of concerns over a reported rise in anti-Semitism.

Israel's national security council raised its warning for Australia to level two of four, urging travellers to "increase precautionary measures".

The United Kingdom, Germany, France and Argentina have identical warnings, but the United States and New Zealand remain unchanged. 

Israel's government said travellers should avoid overt displays of their Israeli identity abroad.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said it had reported a 591 per cent rise in reports of anti-Semitism in the community, and its Annual Report on Anti-Semitism in Australia is due to come out "soon", the organisation said. 

In August this year, before the October 7 attacks, a survey of more than 500 Jewish students commissioned by the Zionist Federation of Australia and the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, found that more than two-thirds of respondents had experienced anti-Semitism at university.

Also, the Islamophobia Register has said there has been a thirteen-fold rise in incidents occurring in Australia since October 7.