00:00 So, currently Australia does have a Defence Force present in the Middle East.
00:05 It is a small contingent but it is there.
00:08 However, today confirmation that two additional Australian Defence Force aircraft are being
00:12 flown to the Middle East, along with a number of Australian Defence Force personnel.
00:17 In terms of where they'll be stationed, the government isn't providing that information
00:21 publicly, they say due to security reasons.
00:23 And in terms of how many ADF personnel are going, well, once again the government isn't
00:27 providing the exact number.
00:30 Defence Minister Richard Miles sort of describing it as a significant amount but not putting
00:35 an actual figure on it.
00:36 In terms of their role, it's very much a supportive role and only to be used if the security situation
00:43 in the Middle East gets worse.
00:44 They're there purely to help Australians get out of the Middle East if the situation deteriorates
00:50 further.
00:51 Now, we know that in recent weeks we've seen repatriation flights out of Israel, but Richard
00:56 Miles, he did the media rounds this morning and was mentioning Lebanon, saying that if
01:00 there are Australians in Lebanon, they really need to look at commercial flight options
01:04 at the moment.
01:05 So you can see that concern coming from the government that while the focus, of course,
01:09 has been on Israel and Gaza, there is concern it could spread further than that.
01:14 Let's take a listen to the Defence Minister who spoke this morning about the new contingent
01:18 of Defence Force personnel going to the Middle East and his message to Australians over there.
01:23 I would describe it as a significant contingent and it's there to make sure that we are providing
01:30 that support if in fact that support is needed.
01:32 But I think there's another message that I really want to give Michael and that is that
01:36 if you are in the region, if you're in a place like Lebanon and you want to leave, then do.
01:42 Don't rely on this.
01:43 Take the commercial options that are available to you and make your departure.
01:47 I mean, this is a volatile situation.
01:49 We don't exactly know how this is going to play out.
01:54 So Defence Minister Richard Myles, they're urging people in the Middle East, if they
01:58 want to leave, they should do so by commercial means.
02:01 But what happens if they can't, Steffi?
02:03 Yes, so what we've seen, Karina, over recent weeks is there was problems with Aussies getting
02:08 out of Israel.
02:09 So there were those repatriation flights, more than a thousand.
02:11 They've stopped for the time being.
02:14 The big concern is obviously that's why we've got these Defence Force members in there in
02:18 case they need to help people in Lebanon further down the track.
02:22 But we've got a number of Australians in Gaza and at the moment there is no way that they
02:26 can get out.
02:27 Confirmation today, there are 79 Australians in Gaza.
02:30 They're Australian citizens, permanent residents and their family members.
02:34 And they're all in touch with DFAT, which is the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
02:39 The Prime Minister says it is a priority to try and get those people out of Gaza.
02:43 We know that the US, along with Australia and other countries, are speaking with nations
02:48 in the Middle East to try and work out a way to get these people out through a humanitarian
02:52 corridor.
02:53 It is totally closed off at the moment.
02:55 But both federal politicians here and overseas are insisting that work is being done to try
03:01 and fix that matter.
03:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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