It is thought there are 15,000 Australians in Lebanon, and plans for an emergency evacuation have been in place for months
Guardian Australia understands Beirut-Rafic Hariri international airport – the only operational commercial airport in Lebanon – remains open and both Australian passport and visa holders were being assisted on to flights by diplomatic staff. AnDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials declined to comment, but it is consistent with the standard practice of the Australian government when evacuating citizens from danger zones.“Please do not wait for a preferred route.
The statement said Dfat was working with countries such as Canada and the UK. Australians in Lebanon were encouraged to be prepared to leave quickly or shelter in place for an extended period, with the statement urging them to make sure they had enough supplies and knew where their identity documents were.
"If conditions worsen, we may not be able to assist all Australians remaining in Lebanon. We continue to advise Australians not to travel to Lebanon due to the volatile security situation and the risk of the security situation deteriorating further.
Anthony Albanese again advised any Australians in Lebanon to make contact with Dfat and enact plans to leave as soon as possible.“There are still commercial opportunities available. We’ve been saying for months that it is time to leave. It is certainly time to leave now when those opportunities are available, and at the moment there are some commercial opportunities available, and we want Australians to take up that opportunity to come home to safety.
“Obviously we will continue to work with partners about what arrangements can be made, but I again say the numbers would render it unlikely that we would be able to help all Australians who are in Lebanon,” Wong said.
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