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Australia Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon Due to Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

FILE PHOTO: Cars queue as they drop passengers outside the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Cars queue as they drop passengers outside the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
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Australia Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon Due to Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

FILE PHOTO: Cars queue as they drop passengers outside the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Cars queue as they drop passengers outside the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

Australia has asked its citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately, saying there was a real risk that the tensions between Israel and militant group Hezbollah could escalate seriously.
The request follows similar advisories by allies the United States and Britain this week, reported Reuters.
"Now is the time to leave, the security situation could deteriorate quickly with little or no notice," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a video posted on social media platform X late on Wednesday.
Wong said Beirut airport could shut down completely if the situation worsens, potentially stranding people wishing to leave for "an extended period" and urged Australians to use commercial flights while they operate.
The Middle East has been on the edge for months amid Israel's war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.
Some 15,000 Australians reside in Lebanon, with the number rising by thousands during the country's summer months of June to September, according to the Australian Foreign Affairs website. Around half a million Australians reported Lebanese ancestry in the 2021 census.

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Palestinian Prime Minister Says Palestinian Authority Should Run Gaza in Future

Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammed Mustafa and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide attend a meeting of the Global Alliance for the implementation of the two-State Solution at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, January 15, 2025. (Heiko Junge/NTB/via Reuters)
Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammed Mustafa and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide attend a meeting of the Global Alliance for the implementation of the two-State Solution at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, January 15, 2025. (Heiko Junge/NTB/via Reuters)
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Palestinian Prime Minister Says Palestinian Authority Should Run Gaza in Future

Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammed Mustafa and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide attend a meeting of the Global Alliance for the implementation of the two-State Solution at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, January 15, 2025. (Heiko Junge/NTB/via Reuters)
Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammed Mustafa and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide attend a meeting of the Global Alliance for the implementation of the two-State Solution at Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway, January 15, 2025. (Heiko Junge/NTB/via Reuters)

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said it “will not be acceptable” for any entity other than the Palestinian Authority to run the Gaza Strip in the future.

Mustafa made the comments on Wednesday as he visited Norway, one of three European countries that formally recognized a Palestinian state in May.

Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, confining the Palestinian Authority’s limited self-rule to parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The US has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood, which the Israeli government opposes.

“While we’re waiting for the ceasefire, it’s important to stress that it will not be acceptable for any entity to govern Gaza Strip but the legitimate Palestinian leadership and the government of the State of Palestine," Mustafa said.

He added that “any attempt to consolidate the separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, or creating transitional entities, will be rejected.”

Mustafa stressed that “we should not leave Gaza to vacuum ... We are the government of Palestine, ready to hold our responsibilities in the Gaza Strip as we did before.”