Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged Australian citizens and residents in Lebanon to “please leave” and “not to wait for a preferred flight” to return home as all planes may soon be cancelled.
International airlines including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air France and Lufthansa have paused services to and from Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
This call comes after September 23 was marked “the deadliest day of violence in years, with reports of at least 492 killed and 1,645 injured following a series of Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon” said Ravina Shamdasan, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
There are around 15,000 Australians currently living in Lebanon, with officials suggesting that there are thousands of travellers there now.
The Australian government said, “Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza”.
Foreign Minister Wong strongly emphasised how “civilians are being killed by Israeli strikes”, and that the “destructive cycle must end”.
Families have begun fleeing southern Lebanon, sleeping in schools that have been turned into emergency shelters as well as cars and parks due to the increased risk of attack.
The ABC reported on Tuesday, September 24, that Israeli fighter jets carried out “extensive strikes” on Hezbollah weapons and rocket launchers across southern Lebanon.
This follows targeted explosions of pagers and phones used by members of Hezbollah across various cities earlier this month.
The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, is currently meeting with Israeli authorities to discuss and deescalate the evolving situation.
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