The Australian government is planning a third repatriation flight from Israel, anticipating “quite large demand” to flee a conflict with ramifications for “months or years to come”.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, has insisted “safety and security of Australians” is the top priority, as the government faces questions about why Qantas conducted the initial flights while some other nations sent their military because commercial operators will not fly.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, said the decision was based on “availability” and arranging flights “as quickly as we could”.
On Wednesday Anthony Albanese announced that the first two flights from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport to London would depart on Friday and Sunday.
Wong told reporters in Adelaide that the government was “seeking to arrange a further flight, likely to be early next week”. She urged Australians wishing to access assisted departure to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Albanese confirmed the third flight on Thursday afternoon, mistakenly saying it would “be offered by Qantas”, although the government has since clarified it will be a private chartered flight.
“We are looking at the security issues and we are having daily briefings,” Albanese told reporters in Fremantle.
“We will of course, monitor safety and ensure that we are keeping our eye on what is a very volatile situation and volatile region.
“The first flight is scheduled to leave and fly to London tomorrow. And we think it is important that Australian citizens are able to come home to Australia who choose to do so.”
Earlier, O’Neil told the ABC that the conflict was “absolutely horrible and unfortunately Australians are going to hear a lot more of this”.
“This unprecedented act of violence and terrorism that’s occurred in Israel is something that is going to have ramifications probably for months and years to come.”
O’Neil denounced the “the killing of innocent men, women and children” and noted that the “perpetrators”, Hamas, are listed as a terrorist organisation by the Australian government.
“[Hamas] have also committed a crime against the Palestinian people, because many innocent people will die on the other side of this conflict, and all of this is violence begetting more violence. No one will win from this situation,” she said.
Asked how many Australians are likely to need assistance to leave Israel, O’Neil noted there are 10,000 dual citizens who live in Israel and about 45,000 Australians travel to Israel each year.
“So it’s possible that there will be quite large demand over time for these flights,” she said.
Asked why Qantas was operating Australia’s repatriation flights while Canada sends its military and KLM revoked its offer to the Netherlands citing security concerns, O’Neil said the operation of flights “needs to shift and change a little bit as the security situation changes”.
Wong explained the decision was “simply the case of what availability could be arranged faster”.
“Obviously there are occasions where we look to the RAAF but in terms of making sure we can get flights as quickly as we could, we looked at all options including commercial options and Qantas was able to assist.
“We will always work with our like-minded partners on ensuring that there is the appropriate security arrangements. This is a very difficult situation which is why we have worked on assisted departures as quickly as we can.”
Wong said Qantas had offered the Tel Aviv to London flight to passengers “free of charge”, while the government has underwritten the flights.
On Wednesday Qantas said the flights are “expected” to be on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Tel Aviv to London “subject to ongoing safety and security assessments, and regulatory approvals in several countries”.
Despite the Australian government supporting the right of Israel to defend itself and denouncing rallies at which antisemitic chants were made, the opposition led by Peter Dutton has criticised its handling of the conflict particularly Wong urging “restraint” in protection of civilian life.
Albanese on Wednesday told Australian Jews that his government was committed to keeping them safe amid rising inter-community tensions, acknowledging that many would fear “a rise in antisemitism here at home”.
