Australians warned against travelling to Lebanon as some flights to Beirut cancelled or delayed over fears of Israeli attack

In short:

The federal government has issued a fresh travel warning to Australians travelling to Lebanon and asked those in the country to “leave the country immediately”.

Tensions between Israel and the armed political group Hezbollah are rising after rockets fired from Lebanon killed more than a dozen children in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

What’s next?

The DFAT Smartraveller website warns that the security situation could deteriorate rapidly with little or no notice.

The federal government has issued a new warning advising Australians not to travel to Lebanon, urging those in the country to “leave the country immediately” amid rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah following an attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Flights to and from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, were canceled or delayed on Monday. Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) said the disruption was related to an insurance risk.

Smartraveller, an organisation run by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), updated its warning for Lebanon on July 29.

“We continue to advise Australians not to travel to Lebanon due to the volatile security situation and the risk of it deteriorating further,” the statement said.

“Australians living in Lebanon should leave the country immediately while commercial flights are available.

“The security situation could deteriorate rapidly across Lebanon with little or no notice. Some airlines have postponed or canceled flights. Further flight cancellations and disruptions could occur with little or no notice.”

Smarttraveller first changed its travel advice for Lebanon to “do not travel” on October 19, citing an “unstable security situation.”

The new warning came after a rocket hit a soccer field in a village in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday local time, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 20.

The dead included children and teenagers aged 10 to 20. It was the deadliest attack in Israel or territory annexed by Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7 that sparked the Gaza war.

The Israeli military says the rocket was fired by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which denies the claims.

The missile attack heightened fears that Israel and the Iran-backed group could start a full-scale war, and other airlines suspended flights.

International airports cancel flights

Air France said that due to the security situation there, it was suspending flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut on July 29 and 30.

“Air France is continuously monitoring the situation in Lebanon,” the airline said.

Lufthansa Group airlines, including Germany’s Lufthansa, Swiss and Eurowings, have suspended flights to and from Beirut until August 5.

Landing…

Turkish Airlines canceled two flights on Sunday (local time), while Turkish budget carrier SunExpress, Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet, Greek airline Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air and MEA canceled flights on Monday, according to Beirut airport’s information board and flight tracking service Flightradar24.

Jordan’s national carrier, Royal Jordanian, also suspended flights to Beirut on Monday and Tuesday, Jordanian television reported.

ABC/Reuters

Published 16 minutes agoMonday 29 July 2024 at 13:40, updated 1 minute agoMonday 29 July 2024 at 13:55