Australian defence force personnel who are already deployed to the Middle East may be called on to help in an evacuation operation from Lebanon as fears of a regional war escalate.
Government-wide contingency planning and talks with allies have been under way for “many months”, but there is no indication that a major Australian rescue operation is imminent.
The government has stepped up its warnings for Australians to take commercial flights to leave Lebanon while they still can, and says it may not have capacity to help everyone if the crisis worsens.
At least 15,000 Australians are estimated to be in Lebanon, although the government does not have exact numbers.
Israel’s top general said on Wednesday that the country was preparing for a possible ground operation into Lebanon after an intense three-day bombing campaign that has killed more than 600 people, further fuelling fears of a wider regional conflict.
Australian ministers have previously cautioned that a Lebanon evacuation operation would be far more difficult and complex than the one undertaken during the 2006 war, when about 5,300 Australians left with direct government support.
The 2006 rescue largely involved chartered ferries to Cyprus or Turkey.
The ADF chief of joint operations, Vice-Admiral Justin Jones, said: “Under Operation Beech, the ADF has a small number of personnel deployed to the region to support whole-of-government contingency planning and Defence remains postured to support future requirements.”
But in a sign the government is eager to avoid fostering a sense of complacency or a wait-and-see mentality, Jones added: “I reiterate government advice that Australians in Lebanon should look to leave as soon as possible.”
The ADF has not specified the detail or location of these personnel on operational security grounds, but the defence minister, Richard Marles, said last October that three aircraft were in the Middle East to help with potential airlifts.
Observers believe the government is reluctant to talk about hypothetical future government-assisted evacuation planning so as to not undercut its urgent messages for Australians to leave Lebanon by commercial means.
Anthony Albanese said his government had been warning Australians “for months” to leave Lebanon. The prime minister confirmed that “we do” have contingency plans in place, but he emphasised the practical obstacles.
“It will be difficult to get everyone out quickly, if that is required, which is why people should continue to leave if they can, by all means,” Albanese told ABC TV on Thursday.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, was asked on Thursday whether evacuation to Cyprus was part of the planning. She said Australia was “looking at the full range of options in terms of contingency options”.
“Obviously we will continue to work with partners about what arrangements can be made, but I again say the numbers would render it unlikely that we would be able to help all Australians who are in Lebanon,” Wong said on the sidelines of meetings in New York.
Wong said the Australian government condemned Hezbollah’s “continued attacks on Israel” but added: “Lebanese civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hezbollah, so all parties should be show restraint, de-escalate and comply with UN security council resolutions.”
Wong said the global community had “made clear that this destructive cycle must stop” and said the events of recent days made “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza even more urgent”.
She met earlier with the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, and said they had “discussed our shared viewed that there is a need for a ceasefire in Lebanon”.
Asked whether Israel had justification for a ground invasion of Lebanon, Wong said: “I would say that Lebanon cannot become the next Gaza.”
Australia signed on to a US-backed joint statement calling for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border “to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement”.
Such a settlement should enable Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return to their homes in safety, said the statement, which was also backed by Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Qatar.
