Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong this afternoon called for unimpeded access for innocent civilians - including Australian citizens - to leave Gaza after a proposed window for approved foreign nationals to leave didn’t eventuate.

There are 1540 Australians who have registered with the government for assistance as a result of the war but it is unclear how many are in Palestinian territories.

Gaza’s 2.3 million civilians are facing a deepening struggle for food, water and safety, and are bracing for a looming invasion a week after Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on Israel.

Hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents followed Israel’s order to evacuate roughly the northern half of the territory, while others huddled at hospitals in the north on Sunday.

Gaza’s hospitals are expected to run out of fuel for emergency generations within two days, according to the United Nations, which said that that would endanger the lives of thousands of patients.

Senator Wong said she was doing everything she could to allow Australians who wish to leave Gaza to be able to do so through Egypt, but the Rafah crossing - the only crossing point between Egypt and Gaza - remained closed after it was shut down Tuesday following nearby Israeli airstrikes.

“I want to say I know how distressing this is for Australians in Gaza,” she said. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is of serious concern and continues to deteriorate.”

Wong said the government was “doing all we can in a very difficult situation to facilitate departure for those Australians in Gaza who wish to leave”

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“We support work being done by Egypt and others to make the crossing available for humanitarian purposes including the outward passage of civilians,” Senator Wong said.

“We have engaged, including me personally, with our Egyptian counterparts and the Israelis to this end.”

Australia is providing an initial $10 million in humanitarian assistance for civilians affected by the conflict in Gaza to fund urgent needs like medical support, emergency water, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene services.

Wong said while the Australian government “unequivocally condemn Hamas for these evil attacks” and “reiterate Israel’s right to defend itself”, it also called for “safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to civilians affected by the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.

“We also echo calls from around the world including from President Biden for Israel to operate by the rules of war in his response to Hamas attacks. We have already witnessed a devastating loss of life and innocent civilians on all sides of suffering.”