Picture: DFAT
AUSTRALIAN PM Anthony Albanese has joined global condemnation of Iran’s missile strikes on Israel.
Albanese made the comment in a radio interview in Melbourne today (Wednesday).
“It’s an escalation of the conflict that we keep see occurring. We condemn Iran’s actions in lobbing missiles into Israel,” he says.
“This is a human tragedy.
“It’s not some, you know, academic exercise where you’re cheering this on. I think it’s a tragedy for all involved.”
Albanese says a diplomatic solution is vital but concedes that diplomacy would not work in the face of such escalation.
International media reports that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel appeared to have “effectively” defeated the Iranian attack involving 200 ballistic missiles.
A US National Security adviser told reporters at a White House briefing that US Navy destroyers helped shoot down the missiles.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly said it targeted three Israeli military bases around Tel Aviv while the Israel Defence Forces said it identified about 180 missiles fired from Iran.
The attack followed confirmation by Israel that it had launched a ground operation into Lebanon, targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
The incursion, which Israel’s National Security Cabinet called the “next phase” of its war with Hezbollah, is the fourth time that Israeli soldiers publicly entered Lebanese territory in almost 50 years and the first since 2006.
CNN cited Israeli officials as saying that the incursion was limited and that there will be no long-term occupation.
There were no reports on how deep Israeli Defence Force (IDF) troops would venture into the country or how long the operation is expected to last.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military called on residents in more than 24 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate into the countryside.
The IDF also issued an urgent evacuation warning for residents in southern Beirut suburbs on Tuesday night.
At least six people were reported killed when gunmen opened fire on a tram and a tram stop just south of Tel Aviv.
The attack happened just minutes before Iran’s missile attack on the country.
CCTV footage caught two attackers walking off a Red Line light rail service in the central Israeli city of Jaffa and firing on the platform just after 7pm local time, media reports said.
