Aussies stranded after flight cancelled and possibility of 'all out war' looms in Lebanon
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong has implored world leaders that the country 'cannot become the next Gaza'.
Australians stranded in the Middle East say they are "scared" as flights are shut down and the US president Joe Biden warns of the possibility off "all out war" in the region.
The Israeli conflict with militant group Hamas has spilled into Lebanon as fighting with Lebanon-based paramilitary group Hezbollah also intensifies. Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong has implored world leaders that the country "cannot become the next Gaza" and urged any Aussies to get out while they can.
However for some, it's not that easy.
Juliette and Saba Tass are desperate to get back to Sydney after visiting Juliette's sick mother in the capital of Beirut. However their scheduled flight home yesterday was cancelled after recent Israeli attacks and they've now been told they won't be able to leave for another 10 days.
"Of course we're scared," Juliette told The Project overnight.
"Not just scared... you are stuck," Saba said. "You cannot go out of the country because there is one airport. You get stressed when you try to book and it is full.
"It's a little bit scary. [I'm] a little bit stressed."
The couple are in contact with their children at home in Australia but remain unsure when they'll be able to join them. "They want us to come home as soon as possible, but there's no options," Juliette said.
She described the current situation in the country as "a nightmare". "We are in Beirut next to where all the explosions happened. We could hear them. We heard everything … We tried to find a location just to escape from Beirut."
According to officials in Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes on Monday (local time) killed 492 people and sent tens of thousands fleeing for safety. It was the country's deadliest day in decades. Israel had earlier warned people in Lebanon to evacuate areas where it said the armed Hezbollah movement was storing weapons.
Reports on Thursday morning (AEST) claimed Israel's military chief told troops to prepare for a possible ground offensive in Lebanon as heavy Israeli airstrikes continued for a third day
Joe Biden warns of major Middle East war
US President Joe Biden says an all-out war is possible in the Middle East but there was also the possibility of a settlement in Israel's conflicts in the Gaza Strip and with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"An all-out war is possible but I think there's also the opportunity – we're still in play to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region," Biden said in an appearance on US TV.
The US president is in New York this week for United Nations General Assembly meetings, and has been working to calm tensions as the nearly year-long war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip threatens to engulf more of the Middle East.
Israel widened its air strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday (local time) and shot down a missile Hezbollah said it fired at the Mossad spy agency near Tel Aviv.
The Hamas-Israel war is approaching the one-year mark on October 7 when Hamas invaded southern Israel, and has caused tens of thousands of deaths, the majority being of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and left many of the enclave's residents displaced.
The US is reportedly spearheading a new diplomatic effort to end hostilities in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, linking the two conflicts as part of a single ceasefire initiative.
with Reuters
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