Foreign Minister Penny Wong announces $10 million aid package for Lebanon amid humanitarian disaster

The Albanese Government is spending another $10 million on humanitarian aid for hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians displaced after the war in Gaza expanded north a month ago.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced the assistance package — to be delivered via United Nations partners — Friday, bringing Australia’s total humanitarian aid spend since October 7 to nearly $95M.

Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza expanded across the Lebanese border in September against Hezbollah militants.

More than 2500 people have been killed in that theatre of the conflict and about 800,000 Lebanese civilians have been displaced.

Senator Wong said the conflict in Lebanon had taken a heavy toll on civilians, including women and children, and reiterated the Government’s calls for a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza.

“This additional contribution will help those in urgent need, through access to food, shelter and healthcare,” she said.

The expansion of the conflict followed months of cross-border skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah, with the Iranian-backed militia beginning rocket attacks on Israel after October 7.

Israel recently assassinated Hezbollah leader Sayed Hassan Nasrallah in a strike in Lebanon and killed Hamas leader and October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.

The war — launched after the Hamas terrorist attack that killed 1200 Israelis — has reduced the Gaza enclave to rubble, with more than 40,000 Palestinians understood to have been killed amid famine and disease outbreaks.

Australians in Lebanon are urged to leave the country and can contact emergency consular services on +61 2 6261 3305.