Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warns Australians in Lebanon to leave before it’s too late

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned Australians in Lebanon to take up repatriation flights before it’s too late.

Anthony Albanese has urged thousands of Australias still in Lebanon to take up the federal government’s repatriation flights, warning that time is running out and Australia can’t “continue these flights indefinitely”.

The Prime Minister confirmed 3892 Australians and their immediate family had registered with DFAT’s crisis portal and said 1215 Australians had departed Lebanon via six government assisted flights.

However, thousands of Australians still remain in the country, and Mr Albanese urged people to heed the warnings.

“Our message to Australians in Lebanon remains to please take the first flight option that is available to you,” he told parliament during question time on Tuesday.

“There should not be an empty seat on any of these flights. We will not be able to continue these flights indefinitely.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned that the government would not be able to continue the flights out of Lebanon ‘indefinitely’. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Please come home when you have the opportunity. Do not wait. Do not think things might get better. Please come home and be safe.”

He also thanked Qantas and Qatar for running repatriation flights from Cyprus back to Australia.

In a rare moment of bipartisan support, Peter Dutton said he “wholeheartedly” supported the government’s motion.

“It is a precarious time in the Middle East, as we well know, and the Australian government has done a good job in providing clear advice to Australian citizens who are in the region to take up the offer of the flights and people should do that without hesitation,” the Opposition Leader said.

Australians and their immediate family members fleeing Lebanon landed in Sydney overnight. Picture: DFAT

Teary scenes played out at Sydney airport on Monday night as 349 Australians and their immediate family members were welcomed home, the first of more than 1200 evacuated from Lebanon to Cyprus.

But thousands more remain in mortal danger, as Israel continues ramping up its military action against terrorist group Hezbollah.

Federal minister Clare O’Neil warned on Tuesday that opportunities to leave were not “endless”.

“I was actually tearing up a little bit watching those people come back to the airport and into the loving arms of their families,” Ms O’Neil told the ABC.

Welcome home to 349 Australians and their immediate family, who touched down in Sydney tonight after leaving Lebanon over the weekend.

Today another two assisted departure flights leave Beirut Airport for Cyprus. pic.twitter.com/KFckfE3Gwn

— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) October 7, 2024

“We’re working assiduously to try to assist Australians who are in trouble there and I’ll repeat the government’s message again that for any Australians who are in Lebanon, now is the time to get out.

“There will not be endless opportunities to get government assistance to leave Lebanon and I’d really ask everyone who is there to register with DFAT (the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and take the first flight that’s offered to you to get home to safety.”

Hezbollah began firing rockets at civilian areas in northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinian terrorist group Hamas following the brutal October 7 attacks last year.

Israel has pledged to continue striking Hezbollah until tens of thousands of Israelis forced from their homes in the north can return safely.