Australia doesn’t have enough capacity to 'assist' its citizens in Lebanon: Foreign minister

By Necva Tastan Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - Australia does not have enough capacity to assist its citizens in Lebanon amid bombing by Israel, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said.

"The numbers of Australians in Lebanon are beyond the capacity of the government to provide assistance to all," Wong said.

She emphasized the urgency for Australians to leave while commercial flights are still available, according to the Canberra-based SBS news.

As Australia's travel advice for Lebanon is at "do not travel" since Oct. 7, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that people have continued to travel from Australia to Lebanon, defying "common sense."

"The government issues these warnings for a reason," he said.

Nearly half of the scheduled flights from Beirut's airport were canceled on Tuesday, complicating evacuation efforts.

Estimates suggest there are at least 15,000 Australians in Lebanon, but the real figure could be as high as 30,000.

Israel launched deadly airstrikes on Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 492 people, including 35 children, and injuring 1,645 others, while thousands of people have fled their homes, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, the majority of whom are women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

Israeli forces intensified their attacks on Lebanon, ignoring the international community's warnings that they would risk spreading the Gaza conflict to other regions.