Staying put, some Aussies resist calls to flee Lebanon

Australians in Lebanon are being urged to leave as bombings escalate but some are hesitant to uproot their lives as the conflict spreads across the Middle East.

Zakie Khoury Daou has lived in Lebanon for seven years after meeting her husband and despite the unrest and uncertainty, she's staying put.

Previously she had told her family back in Australia she was safe with confidence as clashes between Israel and designated terror group Hezbollah were mainly localised to the country's south.

"Now it's not just the south, it's all over Lebanon," she told AAP from Beirut.

Living with her 29-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son, Ms Khoury Daou said she saw smoke and fire from bombed areas in the distance and would hear war planes overhead every day.

"It's unbelievable how the sound travels in this city," she said.

But she's adamant sustained attacks from Israel and life grinding to a halt with everything but essential services effectively shut down "doesn't give me reason to uproot my life and go back to Australia".

There had been similar situations in the past where she had persevered, she said, but acknowledged there remained a lot of uncertainty about what could happen.

Refugees have filled schools and flowed onto the streets and into empty and destroyed residential blocks. Some have even resorted to invading houses for shelter, Ms Khoury Daou said.

"A whole building in central Beirut got hijacked by refugees."

More than 100 commercial airline tickets have been secured for Australians trying to leave Lebanon.

But with airlines halting flights and diverting away from Lebanese airspace, there are increasing concerns the international airport could shut.

Flights across Monday and Tuesday carried dozens of Australians out while another scheduled flight for Thursday will add to the tally.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it wasn't aware of any Australians killed in Lebanon due to the conflict as of Wednesday.

"Australians in Lebanon should be prepared to leave quickly or shelter in place for an extended period," a spokesperson said.

"If conditions worsen, we may not be able to assist all Australians remaining in Lebanon."

Australians in Israel have been told to follow local advice from authorities after Iran launched about 200 missiles at Israel - most of which were shot down by its iron dome air defence system - in a widely condemned action

Israel has vowed to retaliate.

"We're very concerned about Iran's actions, which is why we condemn them," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said as he reiterated calls for a ceasefire and de-escalation of the conflict, which has sparked a fresh wave of protest at home.

"Israel, of course, has a right to defend itself, what we have called for consistently is for a de-escalation."

Former Australian ambassador to Israel turned Liberal Senator Dave Sharma accused the prime minister of "weasel words" for supporting Israel's right to self defence while calling for a ceasefire and de-escalation.

"Israel has a right to defend itself and a right to respond to this unprovoked missile attack from Iran," he told AAP.

"The onus is not on them to de-escalate, the onus is on the aggressors to de-escalate."

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Australia needed to stand with Israel as "an important ally for us" but deflected a question on how far Israel's right to self defence should extend, saying it was a matter for them.

Britain has chartered a repatriation flight and Canada has secured hundreds of commercial airline tickets for citizens across multiple days.

The federal government continues to work on contingencies to evacuate citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families from Lebanon should the situation deteriorate further.

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636