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Australians describe the bombings near Beirut airport as more evacuations from Lebanon were planned

Posted on by Vaseline
Australians describe the bombings near Beirut airport as more evacuations from Lebanon were planned

An Australian who was among more than 400 people evacuated from Lebanon has described leaving Beirut airport to the sound of bombing.
Two evacuation flights with 407 Australians on board left Beirut airport on Saturday and arrived in Cyprus. The evacuees will stay in temporary accommodation in Cyprus before continuing their journey .

Australian teenager Leah Lucas said she heard bombing as the plane was about to take off.

“While we were on the plane just before take-off, there was a lot of bombing, about 500 meters next to the airport, and as we were about to take off we heard a lot of bombing,” she told Reuters.
“There were a lot of kids who were scared, but thank God we know we’re not in that place anymore and all we can do is just pray for that situation, pray for the people there who don’t have the means to leave as we did.”

A video from Reuters news agency showed planes landing at Beirut airport amid Israeli airstrikes.

Skyline view of bombing buildings

Flames and smoke rise from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, early Sunday, October 6, 2024. Source: AP / Hussein Malla/AP

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles acknowledged the strikes around the airport.

“The suburb of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a presence, is not far from the airport, and so we have seen strikes near the airport, but fortunately the airport remains open at the moment,” he said.
Another Australian man who landed in Cyprus, who did not give his name, thanked Australian authorities for the evacuation measures.
“I was in the south. I lost my house, my children lost their rooms and our clothes. But it’s fine, life goes on. I wish the best for Lebanon,” he told Reuters.

“I am very sad to leave my country, but I am very happy to start a new life in Sydney.”

As the second flight arrived in Cyprus, Australian High Commissioner to Cyprus Fiona McKergow described the mixed emotions of those leaving.
“They are exhausted, extremely happy to be here, but heartbroken to have left their family behind,” McKergow said.
Two more flights will depart Beirut on Sunday evening AEDT for the 45-minute journey to Larnaca.
The first flight home, on Qatar Airlines, will leave Cyprus before midnight on Sunday AEDT.

Qantas will operate two 22-hour flights from Larnaca to Sydney on Monday, arriving on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A group of people at the departure gate of an airport

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government is very focused on Australians in Lebanon. Source: Delivered / Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

As of Sunday morning, 3,679 Australians were registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as wanting to leave Lebanon, while 1,765 had registered for information purposes only.

Marles said a number of Australian defense aircraft were also on standby to assist the departure from Cyprus.
Australian Defense Force personnel are on the ground in Cyprus, Marles said.
“We have a few C1-30 Hercules aircraft currently in Cyprus. There is a Royal Australian Air Force C17 aircraft currently on the ground in Cyprus and it will be moving elsewhere in the region,” he said. he. said.
for the first time as it attacked both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.

With additional reporting by Australian Associated Press.

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