East Kimberley leader Ian Trust among Australians caught in Israel-Iran conflict

West Australian

16-06-2025

East Kimberley Aboriginal leader Ian Trust is among a group of prominent Australians who were frantically being evacuated from Israel on Monday as the conflict with Iran escalated rapidly.
On Sunday, Wunan chairman and Gija man Mr Trust sheltered in a Tel Aviv bomb shelter with other members of the tour group including Olympian and former politician Nova Peris and media personality Erin Molan as Iranian missiles struck the capital.
Ms Peris posted to X that it was, 'extremely frightening and distressing.'
'It's after 2 a.m here in Israel. I'm with 11 other Australians, including several First Nations brothers and sisters. The past 24 hours have been deeply confronting. We spent the early hours of yesterday in a bomb shelter, and much of today there too.
'The last four to five hours have been extremely frightening and distressing. We've witnessed the unrelenting ballistic missile attacks in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and across Israel,' Ms Peris wrote.
Mr Trust was part of a delegation of 12 Australians that were on a tour hosted by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council.
AIJAC spokesman Joel Burnie said on Monday that they were trying to get the delegation, 'over the border.'
'Very tense at the moment, will focus my attention on getting them out,' he told The Kimberley Echo.
Wunan CEO Prue Jenkins said she spoke to Mr Trust on Sunday and, 'he was going okay.'
According to The Australian newspaper the other members of the group are Ms Peris' husband Scott Appleton, Aboriginal leaders Jody Hampton and Renee Fowlestone, champion NSW footballer, Maurice Goolagong, The Australian's Indigenous affairs correspondent Paige Taylor, eye surgeon Kris Rallah-Baker, filmmakers Annette and Eliya Cohen, lawyer Fred Linker and Middle East expert Bren Carlill.
Ms Taylor wrote in The Australian that on the tour the group learned about the history of the Jewish people as well as explored the country's connections to Indigenous Australians.
Ms Molan posted to X on Saturday that she was due to leave Israel on Friday but her flight was cancelled due to the attacks.
'I cannot get out of Israel - for those confused… I was here for an event for 1 night and meant to fly home yesterday but overnight the Iranian attack occurred and airport and airspace closed. It's now a war zone.'
The latest update on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Smartraveller website posted on Sunday advises people to not travel to Israel.
The latest round of military strikes between the two nations began on Friday with a surprise attack by Israel that wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear sites.
Israel advised its campaign would escalate over the coming days.
Explosions shook Tel Aviv on Sunday, and, shortly after nightfall, Iranian missiles hit a residential street in Haifa, a mixed Jewish-Arab city, and in Israel's south.
The Iranian death toll in four days of Israeli strikes, carried out with the declared aim of wiping out Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, had reached at least 224, with 90 per cent of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said.
At least 10 people in Israel, including children, have been killed so far, according to authorities there.