OMEN
07-20-2006, 10:02 PM
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Escape ... Desperate Australians scramble for a place on a ship.
UP to 500 Australians have escaped the violence in Lebanon after being granted passage on Greek and British ships overnight, but hundreds more are still waiting as the UN warns of a humanitarian crisis.
A total of 185 Australians were aboard the Greek ship Psara, which arrived in the port of Larnaka early this morning.
Another 200 to 300 were among up to 2000 civilians taken aboard the naval assault ship HMS Bulwark as Britain ramped up its efforts to evacuate its citizens from war-torn Lebanon.
One Australian woman boarding HMS Bulwark told the BBC she had been frightened.
"We're not very close to where it's all happening, but you get all shaken up in the middle of the night when the bombing starts, so it's quite scary, but finally we're getting out of here," she said.
An Australian man said he had been waiting in hope that the bombing would stop.It's getting worse, something's got to get done," he said.
He also thanked those who were helping him to escape the violence.
"Thanks to the British, thank you very much," he said.
HMS Bulwark was due to dock at Limassol at about 6am local time (1pm AEST).
The marine commandos' dining rooms and officers' living areas were crammed with families, the elderly and children.
As the crisis continued, 19 Australian defence personnel were en route to Beirut to help over-worked Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff who have been working around the clock to help trapped Australians.
Another 65 will depart Sydney for the Middle East today. An extra 29 diplomatic staff have been sent into Beirut and locations in Turkey and Cyprus.
And there was a ray of hope for the trapped Australians today with suggestions Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has agreed to open a "humanitarian corridor" between Lebanon and Cyprus.
The corridor, to be enforced by the Israeli navy, was aimed at allowing the evacuation of refugees and foreigners, public radio said, without elaborating.
Meanwhile, the United Nations emergency relief co-ordinator said he was preparing for a humanitarian catastrophe in Lebanon and that the situation was worsening by the hour.
Jan Egeland, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said nearly 500,000 people were fleeing Israel's deadly retaliatory attacks on Hezbollah militia in Lebanon - a third of them children.
He branded Israel's air raids disproportionate as they continued into the ninth day of a conflict which has killed more than 300 people, but said Hezbollah bore a heavy responsibility for hiding out in civilian areas.
Mr Egeland said the UN was experiencing "enormous problems" in carrying out its duties because it was "caught in the crossfire" too.
"They (the Lebanese) will keep on suffering in a way that we all need to understand is unacceptable," he said on BBC television.
"And their situation will get worse in the coming days as their coping mechanisms erode."
The violence continued unabated overnight, with reports four Israeli soldiers had died in clashes in southern Lebanon.
Defence Minister Amir Peretz warned Israel would launch a full-scale ground operation in Lebanon if necessary.
"If we reach the conclusion that the ground operation is necessary, we will do it. Let no terror organisation feel we would cower from any operation," he said during a tour of towns hit by Hezbollah rocket fire.
AAP
Escape ... Desperate Australians scramble for a place on a ship.
UP to 500 Australians have escaped the violence in Lebanon after being granted passage on Greek and British ships overnight, but hundreds more are still waiting as the UN warns of a humanitarian crisis.
A total of 185 Australians were aboard the Greek ship Psara, which arrived in the port of Larnaka early this morning.
Another 200 to 300 were among up to 2000 civilians taken aboard the naval assault ship HMS Bulwark as Britain ramped up its efforts to evacuate its citizens from war-torn Lebanon.
One Australian woman boarding HMS Bulwark told the BBC she had been frightened.
"We're not very close to where it's all happening, but you get all shaken up in the middle of the night when the bombing starts, so it's quite scary, but finally we're getting out of here," she said.
An Australian man said he had been waiting in hope that the bombing would stop.It's getting worse, something's got to get done," he said.
He also thanked those who were helping him to escape the violence.
"Thanks to the British, thank you very much," he said.
HMS Bulwark was due to dock at Limassol at about 6am local time (1pm AEST).
The marine commandos' dining rooms and officers' living areas were crammed with families, the elderly and children.
As the crisis continued, 19 Australian defence personnel were en route to Beirut to help over-worked Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff who have been working around the clock to help trapped Australians.
Another 65 will depart Sydney for the Middle East today. An extra 29 diplomatic staff have been sent into Beirut and locations in Turkey and Cyprus.
And there was a ray of hope for the trapped Australians today with suggestions Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has agreed to open a "humanitarian corridor" between Lebanon and Cyprus.
The corridor, to be enforced by the Israeli navy, was aimed at allowing the evacuation of refugees and foreigners, public radio said, without elaborating.
Meanwhile, the United Nations emergency relief co-ordinator said he was preparing for a humanitarian catastrophe in Lebanon and that the situation was worsening by the hour.
Jan Egeland, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said nearly 500,000 people were fleeing Israel's deadly retaliatory attacks on Hezbollah militia in Lebanon - a third of them children.
He branded Israel's air raids disproportionate as they continued into the ninth day of a conflict which has killed more than 300 people, but said Hezbollah bore a heavy responsibility for hiding out in civilian areas.
Mr Egeland said the UN was experiencing "enormous problems" in carrying out its duties because it was "caught in the crossfire" too.
"They (the Lebanese) will keep on suffering in a way that we all need to understand is unacceptable," he said on BBC television.
"And their situation will get worse in the coming days as their coping mechanisms erode."
The violence continued unabated overnight, with reports four Israeli soldiers had died in clashes in southern Lebanon.
Defence Minister Amir Peretz warned Israel would launch a full-scale ground operation in Lebanon if necessary.
"If we reach the conclusion that the ground operation is necessary, we will do it. Let no terror organisation feel we would cower from any operation," he said during a tour of towns hit by Hezbollah rocket fire.
AAP