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Hundreds of Australians have arrived in Sydney after being evacuated from Lebanon as Israel continues its bombardment of Hezbollah targets.
The first of two repatriation flights via Cyprus landed on Monday night, with the second set to arrive on Tuesday.
A commercial flight carrying passengers from Lebanon also landed earlier in the evening.
In emotional scenes at Sydney airport, 349 travellers were reunited with their families and loved ones.
Bilal Nassour, who arrived on the government-sponsored flight, told SBS News his house in Lebanon had been destroyed shortly after he fled.
“I was under fire, it was a crisis moment for us,” he said.
“I couldn’t find any way to go out if the Australian government didn’t bring us.
“Yesterday my house [was] hit. I left on Saturday, and yesterday the area I was living … all destroyed.”
Families were reunited at Sydney airport on Monday night.
Dana Hamieh said she was grateful for the evacuation flights to Australia.
“We are very heartbroken, we are very exhausted after three days [of] no sleep, but at least now I know my kids are safe,” she said.
“When we left it was terrifying … imagine you’ve been bombed, our houses have been bombed, our rooms have been bombed, no more neighbours … I never knew the importance of having this passport until today.”
The intensified violence reignited concerns for Australians in Lebanon, with the federal government urging citizens and permanent residents to leave before the situation deteriorates further.
In two weeks, Israel’s bombing campaign has killed more than 1400 Lebanese people and left another 1.2 million without homes.
More than 900 Australians have been helped to leave Lebanon, and thousands have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for assistance.
The federal government is working to secure further seats on commercial airlines out of Lebanon, but Foreign Minister Penny Wong noted flights out “are subject to security and operational restrictions”.
–Additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press
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