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Australian officials pulled from Lebanon, Israel and UAE amid war in the Middle East

Non-essential government staff were told to get out of Israel and the UAE earlier on Thursday.

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Australians should not be travelling to Lebanon, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Foreign Minister Penny Wong says. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Australia has ordered all non-essential officials to leave Lebanon on Friday as the US and Israel's war on Iran engulfs the Middle East.

The move comes after the government pulled its officials from Israel and the United Arab Emirates a day earlier.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said staff were directed to leave "due to the deteriorating security situation".

"A small number of Australian officials will remain in-country to provide consular support to Australians," she said in a statement on Friday.

"We continue to advise Australians not to travel to Lebanon.

"We urge you to leave the Middle East if you can and if it's safe to do so."

The government told families of Australian officials in Israel and Lebanon to leave in the days before the war began on 28 February.

Voluntary departures were also offered to diplomats' dependents in the UAE, Jordan and Qatar.

The war has so far killed about 2,000 people and caused the biggest disruption to global oil supplies in decades.

Oil prices that had ‌come down earlier this week after US President Donald Trump said the war ⁠would soon be over soared back above US$100 a barrel after an apparent escalation in Iranian attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf.

The two-week-old conflict has prompted thousands of Australians to flee the region, with the government saying on Tuesday that more than 2,600 Australians were returning home on commercial flights.

Wong said the overwhelming majority of Australian citizens who were travelling through the Middle East and became stuck when the war broke out had returned home.

— With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press.


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