Penny Wong: ‘Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza’

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has decried the Israeli air strikes for killing Lebanese women and children, warning that the world cannot allow Lebanon to become the next Gaza.

The Israeli military said it killed a top Hezbollah commander as part of a two-day barrage that has left more than 560 people dead and prompted thousands of people in southern Lebanon to seek refuge in the north of the country.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong is representing Australia at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Credit: AP

In a significant strengthening of her previous language, Wong said: “Civilians are being killed by Israeli strikes and it is women and children who are paying the highest price.

“The global community is clear, this destructive cycle must stop. All parties must show restraint and de-escalate ... Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza.”

Wong, who is representing Australia at a gathering of global leaders in New York, said that the escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hezbollah made the case for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza even more urgent”.

“Hostages must be released and aid must flow,” she said.

At least 41,467 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the Gazan health ministry, while Israel reports 1200 people killed in the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023.

Also warning that Lebanon was on the brink of becoming a second Gaza, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the crisis in the Middle East had “become a non-stop nightmare that threatens to take the whole region down”.

World leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York castigated Israel for the way it has conducted the war in Gaza, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saying the enclave had “become the world’s largest cemetery for women and children”.

King Abdullah II of Jordan called for the UN to enforce a “Gaza humanitarian gateway” to deliver food, water, medicine and other desperately needed supplies.

“This Israeli government has killed more children, more journalists, more aid workers, and more medical personnel than any other war in recent memory,” Abdullah said.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 564 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Monday, including 50 children and 94 women, and that more than 1800 have been wounded.

Israel said a strike in Beirut had killed Ibrahim Qubaisi, a top Hezbollah commander with the militant group’s rocket and missile unit it said was responsible for launches towards Israel.

The UN Security Council was preparing to convene an emergency session on Lebanon on Thursday Australian time at the request of France’s foreign minister.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that Hezbollah had “taken Lebanon hostage” and that “the UN is neither acknowledging their actions, nor fulfilling its fundamental obligation – preventing Hezbollah attacks and demanding the implementation of resolution 1701”.

That resolution requires Hezbollah to disarm and withdraw north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon.

Wong reiterated her call for Australians in Lebanon to leave immediately, saying: “Please do not wait for a preferred route, take the first opportunity.

“There are flight cancellations and disruptions, and there is a risk Beirut airport may close for an extended period.”

Wong said that many Australians have relatives in Lebanon, saying it is “obviously a very stressful situation for them”.

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