The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) has confirmed two Australians have been killed in an airstrike in southern Lebanon.
In a statement issued today, a DFAT spokesperson confirmed two Australian citizens were killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a Lebanese city in the country's south.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) earlier reported that a man, his brother, and his wife, were killed during an Israeli air strike before midnight (2200 GMT) on a house in the center of the town of Bint Jbeil, around two kilometers from the border.
The NNA identified the dead as Ali Bazzi, his brother Ibrahim, and his wife Shourouk Hammoud, and said another family member was wounded.
Hezbollah later announced that Ali Bazzi was one of its fighters. A relative told AFP that Ibrahim Bazzi was an Australian citizen who had flown in for a visit about a week earlier.
Following Hezbollah's claim, Australia said it was investigating Hezbollah's allegations that one of the Australians murdered had ties to the extremist organization.
“We will continue to make inquiries about this particular person, with whom Hezbollah has claimed links,” Acting Foreign Minister Mark Dreyfus said during a media briefing.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran, is a “listed terrorist organization” in Australia and it is an offense for any Australian to provide it with financial support or fight in its ranks, Dreyfus said.
In a statement issued today, a DFAT spokesperson confirmed two Australian citizens were killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a Lebanese city in the country's south.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) earlier reported that a man, his brother, and his wife, were killed during an Israeli air strike before midnight (2200 GMT) on a house in the center of the town of Bint Jbeil, around two kilometers from the border.
The NNA identified the dead as Ali Bazzi, his brother Ibrahim, and his wife Shourouk Hammoud, and said another family member was wounded.
Hezbollah later announced that Ali Bazzi was one of its fighters. A relative told AFP that Ibrahim Bazzi was an Australian citizen who had flown in for a visit about a week earlier.
Following Hezbollah's claim, Australia said it was investigating Hezbollah's allegations that one of the Australians murdered had ties to the extremist organization.
“We will continue to make inquiries about this particular person, with whom Hezbollah has claimed links,” Acting Foreign Minister Mark Dreyfus said during a media briefing.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran, is a “listed terrorist organization” in Australia and it is an offense for any Australian to provide it with financial support or fight in its ranks, Dreyfus said.
