Canberra, Australia: Australia's prime minister on Friday welcomed a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as "a marvelous humanitarian thing."
Prime Minister Tony Abbott's conservative government is a staunch ally of Israel, and angered Arab and Islamic countries in June by changing its description of East Jerusalem from "occupied" to "disputed."
He said Australia had been working at the United Nations and elsewhere for an immediate ceasefire.
"Thank God that's what there is," Abbott told reporters several hours before the ceasefire was to take effect. "That will be a marvelous humanitarian thing."
"I deplore the indiscriminate rain of missiles from Gaza on to Israel; I deplore any actions which result in civilian deaths, and obviously we've seen far too much of that over the last few weeks," he said.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza for 72 hours, although Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned that the lull in violence did not guarantee an end to the conflict.
Israeli and Palestinian delegations were expected to travel immediately to Cairo for talks with the Egyptian government aimed at reaching an end to the conflict, now more than three weeks old.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott's conservative government is a staunch ally of Israel, and angered Arab and Islamic countries in June by changing its description of East Jerusalem from "occupied" to "disputed."
He said Australia had been working at the United Nations and elsewhere for an immediate ceasefire.
"I deplore the indiscriminate rain of missiles from Gaza on to Israel; I deplore any actions which result in civilian deaths, and obviously we've seen far too much of that over the last few weeks," he said.
Advertisement
Israeli and Palestinian delegations were expected to travel immediately to Cairo for talks with the Egyptian government aimed at reaching an end to the conflict, now more than three weeks old.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"No Unity": Families Of Israeli Hostages Divided On How To Secure Release Adidas Drops Pro-Palestinian Model Bella Hadid From Ad Referencing 1973 Munich Olympics "Decision Of Lies": Israel PM Netanyahu On World Court's Palestine Order The 'Fake' CrowdStrike Worker Who Crippled Windows Users Worldwide 500 Para Commandos To Hunt Pakistani Terrorists In Jammu After Attacks Over 300 Indian Students Return As Quota Row Sparks Violence In Bangladesh Delhi Lt Governor vs AAP Over Arvind Kejriwal's Blood Sugar Levels Study Abroad: Top 10 Management Universities In United States Of America Normal Bowel Movements Key To Reducing Chronic Disease Risk, Study Finds Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.