Dutton ‘intentionally lying’ about Australia’s stance on Middle East crisis, Marles says

The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, has said Australia is ‘on exactly the same page as the US’ after Peter Dutton said the country was ‘at odds with its allies’. Photograph: Kin Cheung/PA

The federal government has hit back at Peter Dutton’s claims that Australia is at odds with its allies over the conflict in the Middle East, characterising this as “an intentional lie” that aims to fuel division.

With more Australians expected to fly out of Lebanon on Sunday as Israel steps up strikes in southern Beirut, the government said it was “deeply anxious” about the “extraordinary loss of innocent life in Gaza” and the prospect of the conflict spreading.