The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has vowed referendum votes cast at the Australian embassy in Israel will be transported back and counted after voting services closed this week following a deadly and unprecedented attack by Hamas.
A note posted to the embassy’s website says voting services closed at 4pm on Tuesday “due to the current security situation”.
“Individuals who cannot cast their vote can advise the AEC via the overseas notification form or mail their postal votes to another overseas voting centre or directly to the AEC in Australia,” the note says.
“The decision to cease providing voting services at the embassy in Tel Aviv was made by the AEC and DFAT in consultation with the embassy. We thank you for your understanding.”
AEC media and digital engagement director Evan Ekin-Smyth told Crikey the closure took into account “local security concerns”.
“I do not have immediate visibility on the number of votes cast in Tel Aviv so far but do know that arrangements are in place for them to be transported back to Australia to be included in the count,” he said.
The closure is not likely to significantly impact the referendum result. At the 2022 federal election, 56 votes were cast in Tel Aviv. Overall in that election, 17,558 people voted in person at overseas voting centres, and the AEC sent out 57,650 postal votes to Australians in 152 different countries.
Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist organisation governing the Gaza Strip, are at war after Hamas stunned Israel with a bloody surprise assault at the weekend.
Hamas gunmen broke through the barrier separating the Palestinian Gaza Strip from Israel, killed hundreds of people, including scores of civilians, and kidnapped dozens. By Wednesday the Israeli death toll had climbed to more than 1200, according to Israeli reports. The Hamas assault has been called unprecedented in its scale and methods.
In Gaza, authorities say 1100 people have been killed after Israel besieged the strip and shelled buildings in retaliation for the Hamas attack.
There are between 10,000 to 12,000 Australians living in Israel, and the government in Canberra has arranged for repatriation flights for citizens.
“We know there are a number of Australian citizens in Israel who will be looking to go to safety and to return home. I thank Qantas for making two flights available. They will occur, the first on Friday and then another on Sunday. We’ll continue to monitor now the demand which is there,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
“It is important these flights will travel from the airport next to Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport to London, and then, of course, it will be relatively simple for people to be able to return from London.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said the flights would be free of charge.
“Our immediate priority is to ensure the Australians who want to leave Israel are able to do so — but we are working on options for Australians who need onward support from London,” she said in a statement.
Australians looking to leave Israel who can’t get to Ben Gurion Airport should contact the Consular Emergency Centre for assistance.
At least one of the casualties of the Hamas attack was Australian.
“The Australian government has received confirmation of the tragic death of Galit Carbone, an Australian citizen murdered in the attacks on Israel by terrorist group Hamas,” Wong said on Wednesday.
