Key Points
- Australians are being urged not to travel to Lebanon and leave immediately if there.
- Some flights at Beirut’s international airport have been cancelled.
- Israel’s security cabinet has authorised its military to respond to a rocket strike that killed 12 people in Israel.
The Australian government has issued a fresh warning against travel to Lebanon, amid fears Israel will launch a retaliatory strike on the country.
Some flights at Beirut airport have been cancelled or delayed with Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) saying disruptions to its schedule were related to insurance risks, as tensions between Israel and armed political group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, escalate in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, an Israeli drone strike outside the southern Lebanese town of Shaqra on Monday killed two people and wounded three, including a child, emergency medical service Lebanese Civil Defense said.
A rocket strike that killed 12 teenagers and children in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday added to concerns that Israel and the Iran-backed group could engage in a full-scale war.
Israel’s security cabinet on Sunday authorised the government to respond to the strike. Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the attack, the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since Hamas’ 7 October assault on Israel.
Since 19 October, the Australian government’s travel advice for Lebanon has been Do Not Travel.
It’s now warning Beirut airport could close, flight prices could become extortionate and people could become trapped.
“Australians in Lebanon should leave immediately while commercial flights remain available,” the government’s Smartraveller website reads.
“Some airlines have postponed or cancelled some flights. Further flight cancellations and disruptions could occur with little or no notice.”
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia “unequivocally condemns” Hezbollah’s rocket attack on the town of Majdal Shams.
Beirut flights cancelled
Germany’s Lufthansa and Lufthansa’s budget airline Eurowings have cancelled three flights to Beirut scheduled for Monday afternoon, according to the information board at the airport and flight tracking website Flightradar24.
Turkish Airlines also cancelled two flights overnight on Sunday and Turkey-based budget carrier SunExpress, Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air and MEA have also cancelled flights scheduled to land in Beirut on Monday, Flightradar24 showed.
The airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport is Lebanon’s only airport. It has been targeted in the country’s civil war, and previous fighting with Israel, including in the last war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
Hezbollah and the Israeli military have increased cross-border exchanges of fire since the war in Gaza started. The conflict has disrupted flights and shipping across the region, including during reciprocal drone and missile attacks between Israel and Iran in April.
