Australia's acting Foreign Minister Mark Dreyfus announced on Thursday that Ibrahim Bazzi and his brother Ali Bazzi, two Australians from Canberra, including a suspected Hezbollah fighter, were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.
Hezbollah is an ally of the Palestinian Islamist faction Hamas, which is at war with Israel.
Israeli Airstrike Killed 2 Australians, Suspected Hezbollah Fighter
Mourners carry the coffins of a Hezbollah fighter and of one of his relatives who were killed in Israeli bombardment the previous night, during a funeral procession in Bint Jbeil, in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, on December 27, 2023, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. An Israeli air strike on a south Lebanon border town killed a Hezbollah fighter, the group said on December 27, with state media reporting two of his relatives were also killed.
Recently, Ibrahim Bazzi had arrived in Lebanon from Sydney to accompany his Lebanese wife, Shorouq Hammoud, to Australia. According to ABC News, Hammoud, who had recently received an Australian visa, was also killed in the attack.
Their three coffins were covered in the flag of Hezbollah. According to Dreyfus, Australia is currently looking into Hezbollah's allegation that Ali Bazzi is one of its fighters.
"Hezbollah is a listed terrorist organization under Australian law. It's an offense for any Australian to cooperate with, to support, let alone to fight with a listed terrorist organization like Hezbollah," Dreyfus said.
Dreyfus claimed that his government had already talked with Israel about the airstrike but declined to disclose the details of their discussion. He said that in the context of the current conflict, Australia has consistently called for civilian lives to be protected. They have also consistently raised their concerns about the risk of the conflict spreading.
The AP News reported that he reiterated an Australian government warning not to visit Lebanon. Australians who have already arrived in the country must depart when commercial flights are accessible. Dreyfus noted that the Australian embassy in Beirut was ready to provide consular assistance to the Bazzi family if required.
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Hezbollah's Role in Israel-Hamas War
Hezbollah is an Islamist movement supported by Iran that possesses one of the strongest paramilitary groups in the Middle East. With its primary base on the border between Israel and Lebanon, the group has the potential to play a major role in the Israel-Hamas war and ignite a larger regional conflict.
After Israeli soldiers seized nearly half of Lebanon in 1982 during their invasion, Hezbollah rose to prominence. The attack included Beirut, where Israeli forces encircled the western portion of the capital to drive out Palestinian militants, accompanied by Christian Lebanese militants with ties to the right-wing Israel.
Hamas' deadly strikes on Israel claimed 1,400 lives. The conflict has already had a significant impact on the Middle East and sparked protests and diplomatic rifts across the globe.
According to Palestinian health authorities, the Israeli strikes on the October 7 attack have killed more than 5,000 people.
The consequences were evident along the border between Israel and Lebanon, where Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting back and forth in low-rumbling tit-for-tat skirmishes since the war began, leaving the entire region on edge.
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