KEY POINTS
- The federal government is again urging Australians in Lebanon to leave the country.
- They face significant challenges, after international airlines suspended flights to and from the capital Beirut.
- The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is “working with airlines” to help Australians secure tickets.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has told Australians in Lebanon to “not wait” to leave, as the country’s main airport could close following Israel’s “targeted” ground assault.
The federal government has been in recent weeks amid soaring tensions between the militant and political group Hezbollah and Israel.
On Tuesday (AEST), Israel announced that it in the border area of southern Lebanon — three days after it announced it had in a strike on the group’s central command headquarters in the southern suburbs of the country’s capital, Beirut.
In a statement published on X, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the “limited, localised and targeted ground raids” were based on “precise intelligence” against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure in villages close to the border.
Israel is already in a — the political and military group that has governed the Gaza Strip and an ally of Hezbollah — sparked after the October 7 assault by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel.
About 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli tallies, and about 250 others taken hostages.
Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, and plunged the territory into a deep humanitarian crisis.
On Tuesday, Wong said on social media platform X: “There is a risk Beirut airport may close for an extended period.
“We continue to urge Australians in Lebanon to take the first opportunity they can to depart. Please do not wait for a preferred route.”
She acknowledged the decision to leave would be difficult, and there would also be difficulties in finding flights.
The Israeli military started “targeted” ground raids in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, backed by airstrikes and artillery. Source: Getty, AFP / Fadel Itani
Foreign airlines .
Wong said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was “working with airlines to assist Australians secure tickets on commercial flights”.
Wong’s warning came as Treasurer Jim Chalmers reiterated the government’s “grave concerns” about the escalating conflict.
“We continue to urge restraint and de-escalation because further hostilities put the lives of tens of thousands of civilians at risk,” Chalmers told reporters on Tuesday.
He said the “destructive cycle” in the Middle East must stop and called for parties to accept a “comprehensive ceasefire deal, brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt and endorsed by the UN Security Council”.
Last week, Israel that was backed by Australia, the United States, and the European Union.
Chalmers said ceasefire delays were “costing lives” and that Lebanon must not “become the next Gaza”.
He said the federal government did not mourn the loss of Nasrallah.
“We do mourn the loss of so many innocent lives in the Middle East,” Chalmers said.
The escalation in the Middle East has translated to growing frustration within Arab and Lebanese communities in Australia about the federal government’s rhetoric over Israel’s incursion and sustained attacks.
Chalmers denied the federal government was tip-toeing around the issue by using terms like “concern” about escalation, which Arab and Palestinian communities want to be strengthened.
“I don’t agree with that, but I understand and respect that our communities are hurting, and this is a difficult time for people,” he said.
Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed about 1,000 civilians and forced one million to flee their homes, according to the Lebanese government.
At least 95 people were killed and 172 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon’s southern regions, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and Beirut in the past 24 hours, Lebanon’s health ministry said early on Tuesday.
With reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
