Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is once again urging Australian citizens not to travel to Lebanon after Israeli forces have threatened ground operations in the country.

The number of people who have died in Lebanon as a result of the Israeli air strikes has risen to 569 with the Lebanese foreign minister saying the number of people displaced has reached half a million.

Albanese urged Australians not to travel there and “please leave” if they are there already.

“The advice has been for many months now – please leave,” Albanese told Sky News Australia. “Australian citizens should not be travelling to Lebanon.”

The warning is not new with Australia’s foreign affairs minister Penny Wong first urging Australians to leave the country back in August.

“If the conflict escalates, there is a strong possibility Beirut Airport could close at short notice,” she said. “That means Australians in Lebanon may not be able to leave for an extended period.”

Following the escalation, some international airlines have suspended their flights to Beirut.

Emirates announced the temporary suspension of its flights on Wednesday and sister airline flydubai also cancelled them. Emirates said: “The safety of our crew and customers is of utmost importance and will not be compromised.”

Meanwhile, Air France has suspended all of its flights to Lebanon until October the 1st and Qatar Airways has also suspended its flights.

Government body Smartravellors’ advice since the 19 October 2023 has been to not travel to Lebanon. In a recent update it said: “We continue to advise that Australians do not travel to Lebanon due to the volatile security situation and the risk of the security situation deteriorating further.”

Feature image: Sky News