australians fleeing lebanon

Three bus loads of Australians have been safely transported from war-torn Lebanon to Syria as the British Prime Minister calls for an international force to stop the violence in the region.

Thousands of foreign nationals have been trapped in Lebanon by Israeli attacks intended to force the handover of a soldier captured by the militant group, Hezbollah.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says 4,500 Australians have registered with its embassy in Lebanon but there are as many as 25,000 Australians in the region.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says 86 Australians have tonight been driven out of Beirut and across the border into Syria.

Mr Downer says they will be taken to Damascus then onto Jordan.

The process will be repeated tomorrow.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Defence Minister Teresa Gambaro says those who are still stranded can be assured the Government is doing what it can.

"We have been working 24 hours a day from the Prime Minister to the Foreign Minister, myself both here and in Lebanon," she said.

"But I can understand why people would be upset and I've spoken to parents of children who are over there and I'm a parent, I can understand their anxiety."

Death toll rises

Israeli air strikes have killed 23 people in Lebanon today.

Raids have destroyed two Army posts on the northern Lebanese coast, killing at least six Lebanese soldiers.

They have also damaged the homes of Hizbollah officials in eastern Lebanon, killing 11 people in over 60 strikes.

Four more people have died in strikes south of Beirut, which have targeted a fuel storage.

Civilian installations, petrol stations and factories elsewhere have also been hit.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev says his country regrets the loss of civilian life.

"When civilians have been caught up, I express our regret, that's not our intention," he said.

"What we're trying to do is to cut off Hezbollah from further supply by Iran and Syria, that's why we hit the bridges and the roads and so forth.

"The idea is to deal with Hezbollah, to neutralise their ability to rein terror on the skies of Israelis."

Hezbollah yesterday fired rockets on Haifa, killing eight people in its deadliest attack on Israel.

An Israeli Army spokesman says Hezbollah has fired about 20 rockets at Israel overnight, wounding several people.

The spokesperson says more than 100 rockets have crashed across the border in 24 hours.

Twenty-four Israelis have been killed in the fighting, including 12 civilians hit in rocket attacks.


Israel is demanding the disarming of Hezbollah in line with UN Security Council resolutions - a task that is beyond a fragile Lebanese Government dependent on consensus among rival sectarian groups.

Lebanon fears that any attempt to tackle Hezbollah directly will re-ignite civil war and split its Army.

- ABC/Reuters

Dave R.