By Dominic Giannini in Canberra

Thousands of Australians in Lebanon are being warned to leave immediately as rocket exchanges with Israel narrow the window to escape safely.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed alarm at the escalation of the conflict and called for Australians to get out, while spearheading a push to protect humanitarian workers in conflict zones better.

Australia was doing what it could to develop a contingency plan to get people out of Lebanon but numbers were “beyond the capacity of the government to provide assistance to all”, she said.

“We’re alarmed by the escalation and the loss of civilian life, both in Lebanon and also the attacks into Israel,” she told reporters in New York on Tuesday (AEST).

About 15,000 Australians normally live in Lebanon but that number increases by several thousand during Lebanon’s summer, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Aid organisations have suspended operations in parts of Lebanon after an Israel barrage killed some 500 people including dozens of children, and injured more than 1600, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Israel said it targeted the designated terrorist organisation, including weapon stocks hidden in residential buildings.

Save the Children branded the barrage of some 1600 Israeli rockets “our worst nightmare is now becoming a reality”.

Children had been traumatised by the attack, the organisation’s Lebanon director Jennifer Moorehead said.

“This is a major, terrifying escalation,” she said.

“Any further escalation of hostilities will mean an unacceptable loss of human life.”

Vital refugee and host community services have been suspended, ActionAid says.

Its partner, the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering which supports Palestinian and Syrian refugees and host communities in Lebanon, has also suspended activities due to the escalating violence.

The United States doesn’t support a cross-border escalation between Israel and Hezbollah and has sent a small number of extra troops to the region as the security situation deteriorates.

Greece’s Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said not enough international pressure had been applied to Israel to end the war in Gaza and prevent an escalation with Lebanon.

His nation is pushing for European Union nations to temporarily accept injured and traumatised children.

Senator Wong will work with humanitarian organisations and the United Nations secretary general to present a declaration that outlines practical steps to protect aid workers in conflict while reaffirming humanitarian law in the coming months.

She convened with ministerial counterparts and senior representatives from Switzerland, Jordan, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, Japan, Brazil, Columbia, the United Kingdom, the Red Cross and the United Nations.

The killing of humanitarian workers was “a deeply alarming trend”, the foreign minister said.

“Australia felt this deeply”, she said following Israel’s strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy that killed Australian Zomi Frankcom and has pressed Israel to better protect civilians.

Ms Frankcom was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, which has become the world’s most dangerous place for aid workers with almost 300 deaths since Israel began its nearly year-long counteroffensive after Hamas’ October 7 attack.

Israel’s defence force blamed the strike on mistaken identification and a breakdown in procedures.

Her family issued an emotional plea as they welcomed the foreign minister’s announcement.

Ms Frankcom deserved the right to live after serving people “in the most desperate moments of their lives”, her family said in a statement supporting Australia’s push for a declaration.

“People like Zomi are rare and their bravery and selflessness should be not only celebrated but protected – they can’t be brave at any cost,” they said in a statement.

More than 280 aid workers were killed in 2023, the deadliest year on record which is expected to be surpassed in 2024 as conflicts rage in Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen and Gaza.