Latest news with #Peris
West Australian
6 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
East Kimberley leader Ian Trust among Australians caught in Israel-Iran conflict
East Kimberley Aboriginal leader Ian Trust is among a group of prominent Australians who were frantically being evacuated from Israel on Monday as the conflict with Iran escalated rapidly. On Sunday, Wunan chairman and Gija man Mr Trust sheltered in a Tel Aviv bomb shelter with other members of the tour group including Olympian and former politician Nova Peris and media personality Erin Molan as Iranian missiles struck the capital. Ms Peris posted to X that it was, 'extremely frightening and distressing.' 'It's after 2 a.m here in Israel. I'm with 11 other Australians, including several First Nations brothers and sisters. The past 24 hours have been deeply confronting. We spent the early hours of yesterday in a bomb shelter, and much of today there too. 'The last four to five hours have been extremely frightening and distressing. We've witnessed the unrelenting ballistic missile attacks in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and across Israel,' Ms Peris wrote. Mr Trust was part of a delegation of 12 Australians that were on a tour hosted by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council. AIJAC spokesman Joel Burnie said on Monday that they were trying to get the delegation, 'over the border.' 'Very tense at the moment, will focus my attention on getting them out,' he told The Kimberley Echo. Wunan CEO Prue Jenkins said she spoke to Mr Trust on Sunday and, 'he was going okay.' According to The Australian newspaper the other members of the group are Ms Peris' husband Scott Appleton, Aboriginal leaders Jody Hampton and Renee Fowlestone, champion NSW footballer, Maurice Goolagong, The Australian's Indigenous affairs correspondent Paige Taylor, eye surgeon Kris Rallah-Baker, filmmakers Annette and Eliya Cohen, lawyer Fred Linker and Middle East expert Bren Carlill. Ms Taylor wrote in The Australian that on the tour the group learned about the history of the Jewish people as well as explored the country's connections to Indigenous Australians. Ms Molan posted to X on Saturday that she was due to leave Israel on Friday but her flight was cancelled due to the attacks. 'I cannot get out of Israel - for those confused… I was here for an event for 1 night and meant to fly home yesterday but overnight the Iranian attack occurred and airport and airspace closed. It's now a war zone.' The latest update on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Smartraveller website posted on Sunday advises people to not travel to Israel. The latest round of military strikes between the two nations began on Friday with a surprise attack by Israel that wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear sites. Israel advised its campaign would escalate over the coming days. Explosions shook Tel Aviv on Sunday, and, shortly after nightfall, Iranian missiles hit a residential street in Haifa, a mixed Jewish-Arab city, and in Israel's south. The Iranian death toll in four days of Israeli strikes, carried out with the declared aim of wiping out Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, had reached at least 224, with 90 per cent of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said. At least 10 people in Israel, including children, have been killed so far, according to authorities there.
Sky News AU
6 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
DFAT's efforts to support stranded Australians in Israel labelled 'shambolic' as evacuation email contained 'incorrect link'
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's efforts to support stranded Australians in Israel has been labelled 'shambolic' after an evacuation email was sent out which contained an 'incorrect link'. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's efforts to support stranded Australians in Israel as Iranian rockets hammer Tel Aviv has been labelled 'shambolic' after an evacuation email was sent out which contained an 'incorrect link'. In the email, which requested Australians in Israel to upload their personal details to register for evacuation, contained a link which redirected them to a Department of Home Affairs' Translation and Interpreting Service for people with limited English. According to The Daily Telegraph, the website was for people with 'limited English proficiency and for agencies and businesses that need to communicate with their non-English speaking clients', and not to evacuate a high-risk warzone. An Australian, whose first language is English, spoke to the publication said DFAT's blunder 'pretty much sums up this whole situation' after he was sent a link to book an interpreter instead of a seat on a plane to get home. 'Lots of Aussies got an email from DFAT asking for more information but the link didn't work - which pretty much sums up how this whole situation has felt,' the stranded Australian said. 'Unless someone was planning to translate their evacuation request into Mandarin, Hindi or Swahili, it wasn't much help.' The Australian stranded in Israel said it 'took days' before the Department and the Australian Embassy in Israel were able to set up an operational system to gather passport, visa and flight details from trapped Australians. 'We just hope it actually leads to action … It's not enough to just collect names - people are scared and want to get out,' the Australian traveller said. 'It's shambolic, and would almost be funny if it wasn't such serious and stressful situation.' has contacted DFAT for comment. Among those trapped in Israel is Olympian and former senator Nova Peris who shared here 'extremely frightening and distressing' experience witnessing 'unrelenting ballistic missiles' raining down across Israel. — Nova Peris OAM OLY (@NovaPeris) June 13, 2025 Ms Peris, who was in Jerusalem on the weekend, said she was with 11 other Australians, including First Nations people, who had spent the early hours of Friday and much of Saturday in a bomb shelter. 'There have now been three waves of missiles fired directly from Iran, targeting civilians, destroying homes, and causing widespread devastation,' Ms Peris wrote. 'We can't wait to come home. But for now, we're safe, in bomb shelters, we're together, and our hearts are with all those living through this terror.' Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other on Sunday, killing scores of civilians and raising fears of a wider conflict, and US President Donald Trump said it could be ended easily while warning Tehran not to strike any US targets. In Israel, rescue teams combed through rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Iranian missiles, using sniffer dogs and heavy excavators to look for survivors after at least 10 people, including children, were killed, raising the two-day toll to 13. Sirens rang out across the country after 4pm on Sunday in the first such daylight alert, and fresh explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv. In Iran, images from the capital showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against Iran's oil and gas sector - raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state. -with Reuters
Sydney Morning Herald
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Iran hits back: Missiles pound Israel as crisis grows
'In the last hour, dozens of missiles have been launched at the state of Israel from Iran, some of which were intercepted,' it said, adding that rescue teams were working at a number of locations across the country where fallen projectiles were reported. A hospital in Tel Aviv treated seven people wounded in the second Iranian barrage; all but one of them had light injuries. Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said they were injured when a projectile hit a building in the city. A spokesperson for Beilinson Hospital said one woman was killed. Australian Olympic medallist and former Labor senator Nova Peris posted on social media from Tel Aviv, calling the experience 'extremely frightening and distressing'. 'It's after 2am here in Israel. I'm with 11 other Australians, including several First Nations brothers and sisters,' wrote Peris, who has been outspoken in her support of Israel and received an award for opposition to antisemitism from an Israeli university last week. 'Like so many here, we're just doing what Israelis do every day, seeking shelter, staying strong, and praying for peace,' she said. Hours later, an Iranian missile struck near homes in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, killing two people and injuring 19, according to Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom. Israel's Fire and Rescue Service said four homes were severely damaged. Israeli strikes continued in Iran, where sirens and several explosions were heard in the capital Tehran, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The sound of explosions and Iranian air defence systems firing at targets echoed across central Tehran shortly after midnight on Saturday. The Fars news agency, which is linked to the Iranian Republican Guard, said two projectiles hit Tehran's Mehrabad airport, with flames reported there. The airport is close to Iranian leadership sites and hosts an air force base with fighter jets and transport aircraft. Iran's UN ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani told the UN Security Council on Friday that Israel's attacks killed 78 people and injured more than 320 others. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced the start of the retaliatory attack in a recorded message carried by state television. 'We will not allow them to get away with this great crime they committed,' he said. 'The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic will deal heavy blows to this enemy.' Iran denies that its uranium enrichment activities are part of a secret weapons program, although Western countries have long accused Iran of refining uranium there to levels suitable for a bomb rather than civilian use. Threat of war escalates Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack had been planned since November and strikes would continue until the nuclear threat posed by Iran was removed. Israel's operation 'will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat', he said in a TV address. 'Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future.' He called for regime change in Iran. 'As we achieve our objective, we are also clearing the path for you to achieve your freedom,' adding: 'Our fight is against the murderous Islamic regime that oppresses and impoverishes you. This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard.' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Iran to halt their attacks on one another, while calling for diplomacy. Loading 'Israeli bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian missile strikes in Tel Aviv. Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,' Guterres wrote on X on Saturday. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday the government had confirmed Australia's officials and small number of military staff in Iran and Israel were all safe at present. He called for de-escalation from all sides of the conflict in the Middle East and made a direct plea to Iran to temper its actions. 'The government is deeply concerned about events which are unfolding in the Middle East and specifically, we are concerned about the risks of escalation,' he said. 'We specifically call on Iran to exercise restraint in their actions so as not to risk any broader conflict.' US military defends Israel from missiles American air defence systems and a Navy destroyer helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles on Friday, US officials said. The US has both ground-based Patriot missile defence systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defence systems in the Middle East that are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. A Navy destroyer in the eastern Mediterranean Sea also shot down Iranian missiles heading towards Israel, one official said. The United States is also shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes. US President Donald Trump said Iran has a second chance to negotiate a nuclear deal and stave off 'even more brutal' attacks being planned by Israel in coming days. In a series of short phone interviews with US media, Trump indicated he was fully aware of Israel's operations in advance, and said that Iran must make a deal that forbids it from developing a nuclear weapon 'before there is nothing left'. 'We knew everything,' Trump told Reuters of Israel's attack plans. 'I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out. They can still work out a deal, however. It's not too late.' The Israeli strikes on Iran throughout the day and the Iranian retaliation raised fears of a broader regional conflagration, though Iran's allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been decimated by Israel. Ayatollah Khamenei accused Israel of starting a war. A senior Iranian official said nowhere in Israel would be safe and revenge would be painful. Iran's UN envoy Iravani accused the US of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences. Loading Israel's UN envoy, Danny Danon, said intelligence had confirmed that within days Iran would have produced enough fissile material for several bombs. He called Israel's operation 'an act of national preservation'. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. The UN nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. Tehran had been engaged in talks with the Trump administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program to replace one that Trump abandoned in 2018. Tehran rejected the last US offer.
The Age
14-06-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Iran hits back: Missiles pound Israel as crisis grows
'In the last hour, dozens of missiles have been launched at the state of Israel from Iran, some of which were intercepted,' it said, adding that rescue teams were working at a number of locations across the country where fallen projectiles were reported. A hospital in Tel Aviv treated seven people wounded in the second Iranian barrage; all but one of them had light injuries. Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said they were injured when a projectile hit a building in the city. A spokesperson for Beilinson Hospital said one woman was killed. Australian Olympic medallist and former Labor senator Nova Peris posted on social media from Tel Aviv, calling the experience 'extremely frightening and distressing'. 'It's after 2am here in Israel. I'm with 11 other Australians, including several First Nations brothers and sisters,' wrote Peris, who has been outspoken in her support of Israel and received an award for opposition to antisemitism from an Israeli university last week. 'Like so many here, we're just doing what Israelis do every day, seeking shelter, staying strong, and praying for peace,' she said. Hours later, an Iranian missile struck near homes in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, killing two people and injuring 19, according to Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom. Israel's Fire and Rescue Service said four homes were severely damaged. Israeli strikes continued in Iran, where sirens and several explosions were heard in the capital Tehran, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The sound of explosions and Iranian air defence systems firing at targets echoed across central Tehran shortly after midnight on Saturday. The Fars news agency, which is linked to the Iranian Republican Guard, said two projectiles hit Tehran's Mehrabad airport, with flames reported there. The airport is close to Iranian leadership sites and hosts an air force base with fighter jets and transport aircraft. Iran's UN ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani told the UN Security Council on Friday that Israel's attacks killed 78 people and injured more than 320 others. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced the start of the retaliatory attack in a recorded message carried by state television. 'We will not allow them to get away with this great crime they committed,' he said. 'The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic will deal heavy blows to this enemy.' Iran denies that its uranium enrichment activities are part of a secret weapons program, although Western countries have long accused Iran of refining uranium there to levels suitable for a bomb rather than civilian use. Threat of war escalates Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack had been planned since November and strikes would continue until the nuclear threat posed by Iran was removed. Israel's operation 'will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat', he said in a TV address. 'Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future.' He called for regime change in Iran. 'As we achieve our objective, we are also clearing the path for you to achieve your freedom,' adding: 'Our fight is against the murderous Islamic regime that oppresses and impoverishes you. This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard.' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Iran to halt their attacks on one another, while calling for diplomacy. Loading 'Israeli bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian missile strikes in Tel Aviv. Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,' Guterres wrote on X on Saturday. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday the government had confirmed Australia's officials and small number of military staff in Iran and Israel were all safe at present. He called for de-escalation from all sides of the conflict in the Middle East and made a direct plea to Iran to temper its actions. 'The government is deeply concerned about events which are unfolding in the Middle East and specifically, we are concerned about the risks of escalation,' he said. 'We specifically call on Iran to exercise restraint in their actions so as not to risk any broader conflict.' US military defends Israel from missiles American air defence systems and a Navy destroyer helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles on Friday, US officials said. The US has both ground-based Patriot missile defence systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defence systems in the Middle East that are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. A Navy destroyer in the eastern Mediterranean Sea also shot down Iranian missiles heading towards Israel, one official said. The United States is also shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes. US President Donald Trump said Iran has a second chance to negotiate a nuclear deal and stave off 'even more brutal' attacks being planned by Israel in coming days. In a series of short phone interviews with US media, Trump indicated he was fully aware of Israel's operations in advance, and said that Iran must make a deal that forbids it from developing a nuclear weapon 'before there is nothing left'. 'We knew everything,' Trump told Reuters of Israel's attack plans. 'I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out. They can still work out a deal, however. It's not too late.' The Israeli strikes on Iran throughout the day and the Iranian retaliation raised fears of a broader regional conflagration, though Iran's allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been decimated by Israel. Ayatollah Khamenei accused Israel of starting a war. A senior Iranian official said nowhere in Israel would be safe and revenge would be painful. Iran's UN envoy Iravani accused the US of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences. Loading Israel's UN envoy, Danny Danon, said intelligence had confirmed that within days Iran would have produced enough fissile material for several bombs. He called Israel's operation 'an act of national preservation'. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. The UN nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. Tehran had been engaged in talks with the Trump administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program to replace one that Trump abandoned in 2018. Tehran rejected the last US offer.
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Who is Nova Peris? Former Australian Olympian and senator shelters in Israel amid Iranian missile barrage
Nova Peris , a former Australian Olympian and senator, is one of the Australians trapped in Israel. She, along with media personality Erin Molan , on June 13 took refuge in bomb shelters after Iran launched multiple missile waves against Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The escalation followed Israel's preemptive strikes on Iran's nuclear and military sites earlier on June 12 and 13. Peris, currently stuck in Israel with 11 others, says the past 24 hours have been 'deeply confronting.' She described the shelter stay as 'extremely frightening and distressing,' recalling repeated missile waves hitting across the region. She expressed solidarity with all civilians, including Israel's 2 million Arab citizens, praising the Israeli defence systems. She thanked those checking on the group and said, 'We can't wait to come home. But for now, we're safe, in bomb shelters, we're together…'. The group includes Peris's husband, Scott Appleton, Indigenous leaders, and professionals touring Israel under the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council. Foreign Minister Penny Wong is in contact with them. Australia's Defence Minister confirmed the consular service is monitoring the situation. Live Events Who is Nova Peris? Nova Peris rose to international prominence as a star athlete. She won a gold medal for Australia in the women's field hockey team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. With this victory, she became the first Indigenous Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. She later also competed as a sprinter at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, making her the first Australian to represent the country in two different sports at the Olympics. In 2013, Peris became the first Indigenous woman elected to the Australian Federal Parliament. She served as a Labor Senator for the Northern Territory until 2016. She focused on Indigenous health, education, and reconciliation during her term. Since leaving politics, Peris has remained active in public life. She has been involved in youth outreach programs, served as an ambassador for Aboriginal communities, and continued work in sports media and advocacy. On June 12, Israel launched a major military operation, 'Operation Rising Lion,' targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure and military facilities. Iran reported 78 deaths as a result and vowed retaliation. Iran responded with three waves of missile attacks, launching approximately 150 missiles toward Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
