Two more military planes and a “significant number” of defence personnel are being sent to the Middle East, according to an announcement from Australia.
This action is a reaction to the escalating violence between Gaza and Israel.
In order to support Australians living in the area in the event that the security situation worsens, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is taking this preventative action.
A Boeing C-17 and an air refueling aircraft with passenger capacity are part of the deployment.
For security concerns, neither the total number of soldiers deployed nor the location of the aircraft would be made public.
It was confirmed by Defence Minister Richard Marles that the aircraft would not be stationed in Israel.
He added that Australians residing in Gaza ought to aim for the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, as it leads directly to Egypt rather than Israel.
A ‘humanitarian pause’ in the Hamas-Israel conflict is being called for at the same time as this deployment.
The Australian government has flown people who are stuck in Israel home since the start of the conflict and has been attempting to save 51 Australians from the West Bank and 79 from the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip.
In related news, Australia announced that it has given Ukraine a further A$20 million ($12.7 million) in military aid, bringing its total contributions since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 to A$910 million.