Australia tells citizens to avoid Israel, leave while they can

Australia is warning its citizens not to travel to Israel and urging Australians there to leave the country while commercial flights remain available.

“The Australian government has serious concerns the security situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories could deteriorate rapidly,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong says in a post on X late Monday.

There continues to be a high threat of military and terrorist attacks against Israel and Israeli interests across the region, the Australian government’s travel advisory says.

Wong also announces sanctions on five Iranians linked to its missile program in reply to Tehran’s October 1 ballistic missile attack on Israel.

“Iran’s missile program poses a material threat to regional and international security,” she says in a statement, calling the attack a “dangerous escalation.”