‘Come home safe’: Anthony Albanese’s appeal to Australians still in Lebanon

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pleaded with Australians to take their last chance to “return home safely” after Israel launched “targeted airstrikes” on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Australians in Lebanon risk being trapped in a war zone and must use the last available escape routes, the government has insisted after Israel launched “targeted ground airstrikes” on Hezbollah targets in the south of the country.

After months of repeated warnings to people to leave the region as the security situation deteriorates, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is attempting to secure any available airline tickets to help some of the approximately 15,000 Australians stranded in Lebanon ahead of the closure of Beirut airport .

On Tuesday, Albanese said that despite the warnings so far, there is still time.

“We are considering all available measures… There are still commercial opportunities… We want Australians to take the opportunity to return home safely,” he said.

The Australian Defense Force has air and ground assets in the region ready to evacuate Australians if necessary.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said while it was important to help Australians needing to evacuate, he needed assurances from the Government that safety would not be compromised.

“We need to make sure that the people we are taking out at 11am in difficult circumstances when the bombs are falling will not compromise the safety of the people we are bringing back to Australia,” he added. he said.

Labor ministers did not respond to Dutton’s national security concerns, but used their Tuesday media appearances to reinforce the government’s calls for an urgent ceasefire and de-escalation.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Australia “does not want Lebanon to become the next Gaza”.

“We are seeing the beginnings of extraordinary civilian casualties,” he said.

The escalation in Lebanon comes amid further political fallout from Sunday’s rallies in Sydney and Melbourne, during which Dutton demanded that pro-Hezbollah protesters be immediately charged or deported if they have visas.

At least six people have been referred to the Australian Federal Police by Victoria Police and could face prosecution in connection with the rallies, where some protesters waved Hezbollah flags and held photos glorifying slain terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah.

It was further reported that some Sydney mosques also held vigils in mourning for Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli attack in Beirut over the weekend.

Australian Federal Police have confirmed that under hate symbols laws passed late last year, the “mere display” of flags does not constitute an offense and other contextual elements must be proven.

Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the law – not yet tested in court – sets out several conditions that must be met before a conviction can be met.

“This should be done in circumstances where a reasonable person would consider that the conduct in question either encourages others to use violence or force (or) is likely to incite others to humiliate or intimidate people on grounds of religion,” she said.

“The context of behavior is extremely important… If they are holding the flag, what are they saying? What are they chanting? What are they wearing? What kind of physical behavior do they exhibit?”

This prompted Dutton to call on parliament to urgently pass stronger legislation – even if it meant a recall before next week’s return – and accuse the government, and through AFP, of “weakness” on the issue of hate.

Albanese said there was “no place in Australia to mourn a terrorist leader” and added he was “very concerned” about the use of terrorist symbols but defended the police investigation process.

“The AFP and authorities will investigate. Any use of terror symbols will be investigated,” he said.

Dutton said the government should make it “very clear” to the AFP commissioner and ASIO director-general that “we do not tolerate this kind of glorification of a terrorist leader.”

Denying that he was trying to undermine their work, Dutton said the AFP had done an “excellent job” but ultimately took the lead from the prime minister and questioned why the government had not planned such protests.

“If the regulations are inadequate, the commissioner of the Australian Federal Police should advise the minister and parliament should address the matter as a matter of urgency,” Dutton said.

“We would support the government in any changes that are required to end the glorification of a terrorist organization.”

Dutton also called on the government to urgently deport all pro-Hezbollah protesters and vigil participants who had visas.

“The minister should not hesitate to cancel the visas of these people and deport them back to their country of origin,” Dutton said.

Burke said there was no indication that protesters had visas, but maintained that if this was found to be the case, the government would not hesitate to take decisive action.

He then criticized Dutton for politicizing the protests, accusing him of undermining fragile social cohesion and “pouring kerosene on the fire.”

“In the case of Peter Dutton, it doesn’t change the fact that no matter how many times our security agencies have said we need to lower the temperature in Australia, every time he wants to raise it,” he told ABC Radio.

“He doesn’t want to recall the parliament because he wants to change the laws that he supported a year ago, he wants to recall the parliament because he wants to throw more kerosene on the fire and make people angrier and say more outrageous things in the parliament. That’s what it’s all about. It has nothing to do with Australia.”