‘Listen’: Albo’s dig at Israel’s PM

Anthony Albanese has taken a stern line on Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israeli leader vowed his country would continue striking Lebanese militant group Hezbollah with “full force”.

The Prime Minister on Friday renewed Australia’s call for “an immediate ceasefire” on the Israel-Lebanon border as well as in Gaza.

“We want to see an end to this conflict,” he told reporters.

“We have called consistently for that. We want to see the hostages released that Hamas has taken.

“We want to see an end to innocent lives being lost, and we again repeat the Australian government advice for Australians who are in Lebanon to return home.”

Australia on Thursday joined the US, Canada, the European Union, Japan and several Gulf States in calling for an immediate 21-day ceasefire, saying the situation between Israel and Lebanon was “intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation”.

“This is in nobody’s interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon,” the countries said.

Mr Netanyahu arrived in New York on Thursday (local time) ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, and was greeted by demonstrations against Israel’s military action in both Lebanon and Gaza.

But neither the protests nor the political pressure appeared to affect the Israeli Prime Minister, who said Israel would “continue to hit Hezbollah with all our might”.

“We will not stop until we achieve all of our goals, first of all returning the residents of the north safely to their homes,” he told reporters.

“This is the policy and no one should make a mistake about that.”

Mr Albanese called on his Israeli counterpart to “listen”.

“I say to Prime Minister Netanyahu that he needs to listen to the international community just like the other players in that region need to listen to the international community,” he said.

“The calls are very clear when you have the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, other nations all calling for a de-escalation of this conflict.

“We are very concerned, and the world is concerned, about the escalation that is continuing here and the consequences for it.”

Thursday’s US-led plea came after Israel’s Defence chief vowed a ground incursion into Lebanon amid days of deadly air strikes on Hezbollah targets.

Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organisation backed by Iran, began firing rockets at civilians areas in northern Israel last year in solidarity with Hamas, forcing tens of thousands from their homes.

Just as Israel has upped its attacks, so has the militant group, with the Israeli business capital Tel Aviv coming under fire.

More than 700 people have been killed and some 2000 injured in Lebanon since Israel’s air strikes began on Monday, according to health officials.