Middle East conflict: Lebanon evacuation flight plan for up to 500 Australians, Penny Wong says ‘do not wait’

Up to 500 Australians will flee Lebanon via Cyprus on a Government-chartered flight amid the rapidly escalating conflict, as Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong urged people to take any available flight to leave.

The evacuation operation comes as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused the Federal Government of failing to offer moral support to Israel.

He also claimed the Government was pursuing a policy of appeasement because of repeated calls by senior ministers for a ceasefire and diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

Israeli troops are marching into Lebanon to rout out terrorist group Hezbollah and the Jewish state is also preparing to respond to an Iranian missile attack, prompting fears the region is on the brink of war.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s foreign policy expert Justin Bassi said the situation was likely to get worse before it gets better and calls for an immediate ceasefire are unrealistic.

“We all want a ceasefire, we all want to see the suffering and the killing and the harm all stopped but this is one of those situations where a proportionate escalation is necessary to de-escalate,” he told The Nightly.

“The degrading of those terrorist organisations (Hamas and Hezbollah) is, I believe, the prerequisite to that ceasefire.

“The calls for an immediate ceasefire over the past few weeks have probably been about looking at the Middle East the way we want it to be rather than the way it is.”

However, he said the fact the Iranian attack had been launched in a way it was able to be defeated by Israel indicated neither country wanted a “full-on hot war”.

About 1700 Australians and their immediate families have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as wanting to leave Lebanon while the situation deteriorates. There are about 15,000 Australia citizens who live in the country and an unknown number of visitors.

But of the 80 seats DFAT had secured on flights on Thursday, only 35 had been taken up.

Senator Wong warned that the situation could deteriorate quickly and Beirut airport could close at a moment’s notice, urging Australians to not delay their departure.

“Please take whatever option is available to you... My message to Australians in Lebanon is do not wait,” Senator Wong said.

“If you are able to secure a seat on a flight, please take that seat.

“Now is not the time for you to wait and see.”

The Government has secured 500 seats for Australians, permanent residents and their immediate family members on two flights to Cyprus that will leave Lebanon on Saturday.

It also has an RAAF aircraft on standby in Cyprus as a contingency option.

Senator Wong called for all parties to “show restraint and de-escalate the situation”, after Iran’s “dangerous” missile attacks earlier this week.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles had earlier backed Israel’s right to defend itself, adding that now was “the moment for diplomacy”.

“Clearly the world does not want to see an escalation to what has happened here. That is exactly why we condemn Iran’s missile attack in the strongest possible terms,” he told ABC Radio.

“We don’t deny countries’ rights to defend themselves, but this is the moment for diplomacy and we need to see every effort being made to try and bring about an end to the hostilities in the Middle East because of the extraordinary loss of civilian life that we’ve seen as a result of it.”

He reiterated calls for a 21-day ceasefire, led by the US and France and backed by nine other countries including Australia.

Mr Dutton said the Albanese Government was at odds with the United States and United Kingdom by including caveats and falling short of explicitly backing retaliatory action.

“(Israel) is a democracy. They are an important ally of ours, and they are under threat and attack this very moment,” he said.

“And for the Defence minister and the deputy prime minister of our country to be talking about some sort of an appeasement model is not going to work and frankly, it diminishes our relationship not only with Israel, but it also says to our other allies that an Albanese-Marles government will only support our allies if it’s in their domestic political interests.”

He said while Israel did not need Australia’s support in terms of Defence supplies, there were other ways to show backing.

“The best thing that we can do at the moment is to provide Israel with that moral support because they’re at threat from an attack from people who don’t share our values,” he said.