Almost 100 Australians have landed in Dubai from Israel on an Australian repatriation flight. In total, more than 200 Australians evacuated from Israel have arrived home, as the government looks to secure safe passage for those stuck in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Friday wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that a government-arranged flight arrived from Tel Aviv overnight with 99 passengers onboard.
“We are planning an assisted-departure flight from Dubai to Perth tonight,” she said.
“Onward domestic travel is being provided to those passengers by Qantas free of charge.”
The government also helped Australians leave on a commercial Emirates flight from Dubai to Sydney.
Senator Wong said due to “diminishing demand for dedicated assisted-departure flights, we do not have immediate plans for any further flights from Tel Aviv”.
“We continue to work with partners to assist the departure of Australians who want to leave Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories,” she said.
Commercial flights departing Tel Aviv remained available, the foreign minister said.
More than 1650 previously registered Australians have left Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
The foreign affairs department is in contact with registered Australians about departure options.
The government has previously said there are 46 Australians in Gaza, and their safety remains unknown.
Greece’s Foreign Ministry advised Greeks to avoid travel to Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon while last week it repatriated 81 Greek citizens back to Greece from Israel.
It remains unconfirmed if more Greeks are currently in Gaza and if more people are still in Israel.
“We advise Greek citizens to avoid, except when absolutely necessary, non essential travels to Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon,” the ministry said in a brief press release.
Source: AMNA, AFP & AAP
