TRANSCRIPT
- Israel carries out deadly strikes in Lebanon and the occupied West Bank.
- The Prime Minister says expelling Iranian ambassador is not in Australia's interests.
- And in rugby league, veteran coaches Craig Bellamy and Ivan Cleary ready to battle for their fourth NRL premiership.
----
Israel has conducted it's most violent attacks on southern Beirut yet with footage showing air strikes setting fire to buildings near the Lebanese capital's international airport.
The Lebanese Health Ministry says Israel has killed almost 2000 people in Lebanon over the past year, including at least 28 healthcare workers since yesterday.
Eleven consecutive strikes were reported near Beirut with reports of more bunker busting bombs causing major damage to civilian infrastructure.
United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza says respecting the rules of war means letting humanitarian groups reach people and protecting civilian infrastructure.
“97. I think today's figure is a total of 97 medical and emergency workers who have been killed so far. And the majority of them it is certainly in the last ten days. So that aspect of IHL (international humanitarian law) is extremely important right now, to allow humanitarians to be able to access those in need and help some. Civilian infrastructure has been hit a great deal. So it's protection of civilian infrastructure. Water establishments, water systems, electricity.”
The Lebanese government says at least 1.2 million people have been displaced by the bombardment and ground invasion.
----
And in the Occupied West Bank,
Israel has carried out it's deadliest strike in decades bombing a refugee camp with fighter jets for the first time in over 20 years.
Israel generally uses drones or helicopters to carry out it's aerial attacks in the West Bank but has now conducted a massive strike killing at least 18 people.
Israel claims the strike targeted Hamas infrastructure and killed a local Hamas leader.
The strike hit a refugee camp of 23,000 people and levelled a building in what is being described as a very traumatic night for the residents of the camp.
Meanwhile in Gaza, Israeli fighter jets have killed multiple people after bombing a home in Khan Younis and have killed at least three after bombing a home in Deir el-Balah.
----
An additional 700 Australians have registered their interest to leave Lebanon with the Department of Foreign Affairs and trade overnight.
The government has secured around 160 seats on commercial flights out of Beirut since Monday, with an additional 500 places to Cyprus obtained on Saturday.
Overnight, just 41 of the 80 places made available to Australians out of Lebanon's capital were filled.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton says Australians should take the first option out of Lebanon available to them.
"If people are waiting for a RAAF flight, that is going to get more and more difficult. So I would just say that they should heed the advice of the Prime Minister, book that commercial flight now and get out of harm's way and back to Australia as Australian citizens as quickly as possible."
----
The Prime Minister says it's not in Australia's national interest to expel the Iranian Ambassador from the country.
The Coalition has called for the Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi to be expelled after he posted on X praising Hezbollah's former leader Hassan Nasrallah after he was killed in an Israeli strike.
The post, published on the day of Mr Nasrallah's death, said he was a great personality and an exceptional leader, and that his path against criminal Zionism will be continued.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia will maintain diplomatic relations.
"The Government condemns any support for terrorist organisations like Hezbollah. We condemn the Ambassador's comments. Australia has maintained a diplomatic relationship with Iran since 1968 that has been continuous. Not because we agree with the regime but because it's in Australia's national interest."
----
In rugby league,
Craig Bellamy and Ivan Cleary are both vying for their fourth N-R-L premiership as coaches in Sunday's grand final.
Cleary has led the Panthers to three straight titles, with the Western Sydney club winning 11 straight NRL finals games, the most in Australian rugby league history.
The Panther's last finals defeat was at the hands of Melbourne, who took out the 2020 grand final with a six point win.
The team pored over hours and hours of footage of that match, analysing their mistakes and using it to propel them to the winning streak we've seen over the past three years.
The response to that defeat has been emphatic, with three straight premierships and now another shot in Melbourne on Sunday.
