'It is a catastrophe': Lebanon PM mourns children killed in Sydney pedestrian crash

The global Lebanese community is rallying around the families of four children killed in pedestrian crash at the weekend.

Source: Dateline

Tragic news of four children killed in a pedestrian crash at the weekend has reached Lebanon as their families grieve.

A group of seven children had been walking on a footpath in Sydney’s north-west suburb Oatlands Saturday evening when police allege a 29-year-old driver mounted the curb and hit the group.

Siblings Anthony, Angelina and Sienna Abdallah, and their cousin Veronique Sakr, died instantly -- three other children were hospitalised.

The driver Samuel Davidson has been charged with 20 offences, including driving under the influence.

The family are part of the local Maronite community in Oatlands, a suburb near Parramatta which has a Lebanese population of more than 12 per cent.

The loss for Australia’s Lebanese community has spread to Beirut where the country’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab Tweeting his condolences: “It is a catastrophe that affected Lebanon and not just the families of the victims.”

“The tragedy that hit our families in Australia with the loss of 4 Lebanese children, including 3 siblings, has hurt us a lot," he Tweeted.

"It is a catastrophe that affected Lebanon and not just the families of the victims. All of Lebanon is saddened. May the victims rest in peace and may God inspire their loved ones with patience.”

Arab News reports that Lebanon’s Foreign minister Nassif Hitti has instructed the country’s ambassador to Australia to follow up on the incident and aid the grieving families.

The parents of three of the children Danny and Leila Abdallah addressed the media on Monday.

"I think in my heart I forgive him. But I want the court to be fair. I'm not going to hate him because that's not who we are," Ms Abdallah told reporters.