Australia Advocates for Lebanon's Inclusion in Middle East Ceasefire
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has emphasized that Lebanon must be included in the Middle East ceasefire, as Israel intensifies its bombing campaign on Beirut and southern Lebanon. Australia, alongside Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Sierra Leone, and the United Kingdom, has expressed deep concern over the escalating humanitarian crisis and displacement resulting from the conflict.
Overnight, Israel conducted its largest attack on Lebanon since the onset of its war with Hezbollah, an assault that led Iranian officials to warn that Tehran might withdraw from the ceasefire agreement recently reached with the United States.
At a press conference in Brisbane, Albanese described the ceasefire between the US and Iran as a "fragile peace" but an important step forward. He announced that Australia's military deployment, including a Wedgetail surveillance aircraft and up to 85 Australian Defence Force personnel, would be extended beyond the initial four-week mission, which was scheduled to conclude this week.
"The Australian government also firmly believes that this [ceasefire] has to apply to Lebanon as well. We want to see peace in this region, and it will make a difference," Albanese said.
"I know that many Australians are concerned about the events that are occurring in Lebanon. This is a matter of not just the impact there, but the impact that it’s having right around the world. So yesterday was an important agreement."
When questioned about whether Australia would provide assistance to Lebanon or aid Australians in the country, as it has done for the United Arab Emirates, Albanese did not provide a direct response but confirmed the Wedgetail aircraft would remain in the Middle East for an extended period. The plane was deployed nearly four weeks ago for an initial four-week defensive mission to assist the UAE against Iranian attacks.
Defence Minister Richard Marles stated that the surveillance aircraft is transmitting intelligence to the Combined Air Operations Centre in Qatar, with data accessible to the United States. Albanese did not specify the length of the extended deployment.
Regarding Israel’s escalating strikes on Lebanon and their potential threat to the ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Albanese commented only,
"we want to see a ceasefire."
Joint Statement Calls for Protection of Humanitarian Personnel
Earlier on Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, together with her counterparts from Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Sierra Leone, and the UK, released a joint statement emphasizing the need to protect humanitarian workers. The statement declared:
"Attacks that threaten the safety and security of humanitarian personnel must stop. International humanitarian law must be upheld by all parties to the conflict in all circumstances."
"We condemn in the strongest terms actions that have killed UN peacekeepers and significantly increased the risks faced by humanitarian personnel in southern Lebanon."
The office of Israel’s Prime Minister clarified that the two-week ceasefire agreement did not include Lebanon, contradicting a statement by mediator Pakistan. Former US President Donald Trump, after initially remaining silent, described the situation in Lebanon as "a separate skirmish" not covered by the ceasefire deal.
Australian Officials Stress Importance of Including Lebanon in Ceasefire
Speaking to ABC’s RN Breakfast on Thursday about the joint statement, Wong affirmed that Australia had called for the ceasefire to encompass Lebanon and for both Hezbollah and Israel to observe it.
"If fighting continued in Lebanon, it risks the whole ceasefire across the region."
"So we called for that last night. We’ve been joined overnight by the G7 and other countries saying the same thing, and we continue to assert that."
When asked if she had communicated with her Israeli counterpart or if the Australian ambassador had conveyed this position, Wong replied:
"Not in the last 12 hours, but I’ve said that publicly, and there’s a very pragmatic reason for that …
"We want the ceasefire to hold. We know it’s fragile. We know what it means for the world, and we know what it means for Australians at the petrol bowser."
Opposition Perspective on Lebanon’s Exclusion from Ceasefire
The Shadow Defence Minister, James Paterson, expressed concern over reports of mass civilian casualties in Lebanon but aligned with the US and Israel’s stance that Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire agreement.
"The United States is our closest and most important military ally and they have publicly said that the ceasefire did not include Lebanon," he told RN Breakfast.
"Against their claims are the claims of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which not only sponsored terrorist attacks against Australia but has murdered tens of thousands of their own citizens in the last few months alone, has an illegal nuclear weapons program and sponsors other terrorist organisations around the world including Hezbollah and Hamas.
"So if asked to take the side of either the United States or the Islamic Republic of Iran regime, it’s an easy choice for me."
