Foreign Minister Penny Wong has renewed her call for Australians in Lebanon to leave the country after a second set of explosions on Wednesday (local time) killed nearly two dozen people and injured hundreds more.
The attacks, which were carried out using rigged walkie-talkies, are widely seen as targeting fighters of Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party and militant group that has been engaged in cross-border fighting with the Israeli military since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization,” Senator Wong told reporters on Thursday.
I would also like to say to Australians in Lebanon that this reflects concerns we have had for some time about the potential for regional escalation.
You may have heard me say: if you are in Lebanon, leave now.
“We are concerned about a broader escalation and will continue to urge all parties to avoid a regional escalation.”
Wednesday’s blasts killed 20 people and injured more than 450, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Tuesday’s blasts has risen to 12, with nearly 3,000 injured, including Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon.
Australians in Lebanon have been desperately urged to leave the country after a second round of deadly attacks in the country involving explosive technology (pictured, paramedics in Beirut)
Israel has not commented directly on either attack, but Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday (local time) that his country was “opening a new phase in the war.”
“It requires courage, determination and perseverance on our part,” Gallant said.
Senator Wong declined to comment on whether she thought Israel was responsible for the attacks in Lebanon, but said: “We know that Israel lives in a unique security environment, and we also know that we see a cycle of violence in the Middle East.”
“We would like to see peace and the people of the region would like to see peace,” he said.
Earlier, Australia joined the UK and Canada among 43 countries that abstained from voting on a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution demanding Israel end its “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” within a year.
The UN General Assembly adopted the Palestinian-drafted resolution by an overwhelming majority, with 124 votes in favour and only 12 against.
Senator Wong said Australia had “worked very hard” with other countries to secure amendments that would have allowed Canberra to support the resolution.
“We voted for recognition and ceasefire… because we were able to get a set of words that we could support,” he said.
“Unfortunately, this was not the case. However, we support the principles of determination in favour of the Palestinian people.”
The senator said she understood why Australians were concerned about the conflict in Gaza, adding that she herself was “deeply concerned”.
“10,000 children have been killed,” he said.
“I am deeply concerned about the conflict in Gaza and we will continue to do everything in our power to achieve peace.”
Australian tourists have been warned not to travel to Lebanon (file image)
The Israeli Air Force said it struck military buildings belonging to Hezbollah in the Jibbain area of southern Lebanon on Wednesday, September 18.
The Israeli Air Force said it attacked several buildings in the Al Jibin region of southern Lebanon using fighter jets after one of its divisions identified several Hezbollah fighters operating in those buildings.
But Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge accused the government of not supporting the resolution because it would have affected “the arms trade with Israel”.
“Foreign Minister Penny Wong can interpret this however she wants,” he told reporters on Thursday afternoon.
“But one of the main reasons the Australian government rejected the UN resolution was that it would have forced Australia to stop two-way arms trade with Israel.”
The government has denied supplying arms and ammunition to Israel in the past five years.
He has also supported the UK’s decision to reduce arms exports to Israel.