Israel-Iran conflict live updates: Beirut comes under heavy missile fire; Australians urged to leave Lebanon

Australia has organised hundreds of airline seats for its citizens to leave Lebanon, flying military aircraft to Cyprus in a contingency plan. Plans could include evacuation by sea, though authorities have urged an estimated 15,000 citizens in Lebanon to leave while Beirut airport remains open.

China

More than 200 Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated by the government, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Canada

News from Canada suggests it will co-operate with Australia in evacuating nationals by sea, with the Toronto Star newspaper saying the plan involves contracting a commercial vessel to ferry out 1000 people each day.

Japan

Japan dispatched two C-2 military transport aircraft to Lebanon on Thursday. The airplanes are standing by for the evacuation of Japanese nationals. There are 40 to 50 Japanese citizens in Lebanon.

South Korea

A South Korean military aircraft has evacuated 97 citizens and family members from Lebanon, the country’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.

United Kingdom

Britain has chartered a limited number of flights for citizens to leave Lebanon, it said on Thursday, repeating advice to evacuate immediately. More than 150 British nationals and dependents left Beirut on a government-chartered flight on Wednesday.

Britain has moved about 700 troops to Cyprus, bolstering military assets, including two Royal Navy ships.

United States

The United States has ordered dozens of troops deployed to Cyprus to help prepare for scenarios such as an evacuation of Americans from Lebanon. It is working with airlines to add flights out of Lebanon, with more seats for Americans, the State Department said on Tuesday.

Reuters

This is Michaela Whitbourn signing off for today. Thank you for reading. We are winding the blog down now but will re-open it later this afternoon and evening in the event of any major breaking news.

Biden, who has long pushed for a diplomatic agreement, and whose relationship with Netanyahu has grown increasingly complicated, was responding to Murphy’s comments.

A peace deal would help smooth divisions in the Democratic Party and could increase electoral support for Vice President Kamala Harris. Netanyahu, though, worries his far-right coalition would stop supporting him if he signed an agreement, leaving him out of power and facing his own legal problems.

Netanyahu has a markedly closer relationship with former president Donald Trump than he does with Biden.

With AP

There are an estimated 15,000 Australians in Lebanon, but only 2338 have registered an interest in leaving with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts said people should leave Lebanon urgently, even if they had close family, business interests and homes in the country.

“Plenty of vacant seats though, available for Australians who want them,” Watts said on ABC News Breakfast on Thursday. “We have registered, at the moment, 2338 Australians who want to leave and we’ll be contacting them and working with them to facilitate their departure.

“This is a heart-wrenching decision to leave, but our advice is, don’t think twice about it, now is the time to leave.”

Allan Patience, a professor of political science at the University of Melbourne, said the government’s major problem was the reluctance of people to leave Lebanon.

During a previous conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, DFAT had to evacuate 500 stranded Australians via ship after the airport closed, which Patience said was again at risk.

“There was chaos and people tried to get out to Cyprus by ship, but even that would become dangerous if the real war were to break out in the Middle East, so there are very few options for these people if they don’t get out now,” he said.

Tens of thousands of people fleeing war in Lebanon have crossed into Syria over the past two weeks.

The Israeli military launched a ground incursion into Lebanon earlier this week and has been fighting Hezbollah militants in a narrow strip of land along the border. A series of attacks before the incursion killed some of the group’s key members, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah, in a display of solidarity, began launching rockets into northern Israel just after Hamas’ October 7 cross-border attack.

What is Iran saying?

A top Iranian official warned on Friday that it would harshly retaliate if Israel attacks Iran.

“If the Israeli entity takes any step or measure against us, our retaliation will be stronger than the previous one,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in Beirut after meeting Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri.

Araghchi’s visit came three days after Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel, the latest in a series of rapidly escalating attacks that threaten to push the Middle East closer to a region-wide war.

AP

Israel said it targeted the crossing because it was being used by Hezbollah to transport military equipment across the border. It said fighter jets had struck a tunnel used to smuggle weapons from Iran and other proxies into Lebanon.

Hezbollah is believed to have received much of its weaponry through Syria from Iran, its main backer.

Associated Press video footage showed two huge craters on each side of the road. People got out of cars, unable to pass, carrying bags of their possessions as they crossed on foot. There are a half-dozen crossings between the two countries, and most remain open.

With AP