Gaza aid demand echoes as ceasefire in Lebanon welcomed

Australia is urging more humanitarian aid to alleviate starvation and suffering in Gaza after backing an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal.

Israel and listed terror group Hezbollah agreed to a 60-day ceasefire, which US President Joe Biden said was "designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities".

The truce is being cautiously welcomed by Australians with family in Lebanon but one has misgivings about how long the ceasefire will last.

"That particular part of the world has been through so much over so long, you just don't know," the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told AAP on Wednesday.

"While you can put faith in it and say, that's wonderful news, until it's cemented you just don't know.

"It's a very, very tragic situation that has gone on for far too long," she said.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong supported the deal, saying it was "a critical step for alleviating immense human suffering and ensuring displaced communities on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border can return home".

The ceasefire would also help de-escalate tensions in the region, the foreign minister added as she echoed calls for a ceasefire in Gaza following the truce.

"An end to the violence in Lebanon must also be a catalyst for an end to the war in Gaza," Senator Wong said in a statement that called for a ceasefire in Gaza, unimpeded aid, the protection of civilians and the release of hostages.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has blamed Israel for impeding the flow of aid into Gaza.

Enough supplies to feed all Gazans for seven months were held up in Jordan, Egypt and Israel, often because of "petty administrative reasons" by Israel, the aid agency's relief and social services director Roger Hearn said.

Israel had said it would take 15 months to clear the entire consignment and had earlier rejected an entire aid package because it contained date bars, "which, for whatever reason, caused offence", he said.

Dr Hearn rejected arguments United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees should be disbanded, saying no agency could cover the ground it did due to its 12,000 staff in Gaza and 8000 workers in the West Bank.

"So it's impossible, and in the short term, we have this emergency situation where there is basically famine in Gaza," he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

"I saw children digging through garbage because there's essentially not enough food.

"Believe me, with Gaza, things can always get worse and they will get worse."

Save the Children called for the violence to stop after 3800 people - including 240 children - were killed after hostilities in Lebanon intensified two months ago.

"We are deeply relieved that after two months of unimaginable violence, an agreement has finally been reached for an end to fighting," Lebanon country director Jennifer Moorehead said.

The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council welcomed the ceasefire but executive director Colin Rubenstein remained cautious.

The West needed to allow Israel to ensure Hezbollah wasn't a threat along Lebanon's southern border, he said.

Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has resulted in more than 43,000 deaths, according to the local health ministry.

Tens of thousands more people are missing, believed to be buried under rubble.

The counteroffensive in Gaza was launched after a Hamas attack killed 1200 people and took 250 hostages on October 7, 2023, according to Israel.