Albanese announces deployment of Australian military forces to Middle East

Australia has deployed military forces to the Middle East as part of its emergency response to the thousands of Australians stranded in the conflict zone, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during a parliamentary hearing, Report informs via Australian media.

"I can confirm right now that another flight, EK414, is in the air with over 200 Australians on board. The flight departed Dubai for Sydney at 9:16 a.m. (GMT+11) Canberra time today, and we hope to see more flights today, which is what we want," he said.

The decision to deploy six crisis teams to the Middle East, as well as "military forces, is part of our contingency planning that began earlier this week."