Victoria is standing by an agreement it quietly signed with Israel's Ministry of Defence more than a year ago.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Israeli ministry's international defence cooperation directorate in December 2022.
There was never any formal public announcement of the signing, although documents from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade show it approved the agreement in October 2022.
A report into then-industry minister Ben Carroll's March 2023 trip to Israel, which cost taxpayers $43,714, also made reference to a meeting with the ministry over the promotion of trade relations.
Minister Gabrielle Williams publicly confirmed the defence agreement was signed after being questioned by reporters on Wednesday.
"Since that MOU signing, there hasn't actually been any sort of deal struck as a part of it," she said.
"Obviously, our commercial contracts with businesses and jurisdictions, particularly in defence, are highly sensitive.
"In light of that, I won't offer anymore comment."
The state government has not said it will withdraw from the agreement, although it noted no research projects have been identified since the signing.
The government has made five Israel-related announcements since the defence memorandum was signed, including around medical partnerships and direct flights to Tel Aviv.
It has also invested in the Australian branch of Israeli defence company Elbit System in 2021 to establish a centre for excellence in Melbourne.
Ms Williams emphasised the defence agreement was made before the war in Gaza started.
More than 1200 Israelis were killed and 240 taken hostage by Hamas since October 7 last year, according to Tel Aviv officials.
In response, Israel's bombardment, blockade and ground invasion of Gaza has killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, put half the territory's 2.3 million residents at risk of starvation and left more than 60 per cent without homes, according to local health officials and the United Nations.
The conflict has led to a wave of protests in Australia.
Rawan Arraf, the executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, said the Victorian government should not be engaging with Israel.
"By extension, that makes Australian and state governments, such as the Victorian government, also complicit in Israel's international crimes," she told AAP.
"The fact that they didn't announce it really shows that they're concerned about the public response to to these types of agreements."
Victorian Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam said the government's connection to Israel's defence ministry was "shrouded in secrecy".
"Victorians have the right to know what - if any - hand Labor is having in the manufacturing of weapons currently being used to flatten the population of Gaza," she posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The government was criticised in 2019 after it signed an agreement with China over its Belt and Road infrastructure strategy.
The Morrison government eventually cancelled the agreement in 2021, saying it was against Australia's foreign policy or was adverse to foreign relations.
Israel's defence ministry was contacted for comment.
