Hearts ache for loved ones left behind in Lebanon

A Wellington man has spoken of his heartache at leaving family behind in Lebanon after fleeing the country and arriving in Sydney last night.

Jean-Jacques Nakouzy, 35, landed at Sydney airport with his wife and 18-month-old son and five other New Zealanders, on an Australian-chartered flight.

He said it was a relief to be heading home, but there was a clash of emotions as he left behind his mother, brother and sister and their families in Lebanon.

"It is very disturbing and stressful. It's very sad seeing your mother country burn down. My heart is still there because all my main family are there."

Mr Nakouzy, a hairdresser, and his wife Rose had taken their young son to Lebanon to be baptised and visit family members on July 11 and the Israeli attacks started within days. "We were far from Beirut, but then later the bombs started to be everywhere."

They travelled to Port Beirut last week and caught a British naval vessel to Cyprus. "We arrived at the port at 9am and did not get away until 7pm. There were hundreds of people getting processed."

He said a New Zealand Government official had contacted him on Cyprus and the family were able to catch a plane that Australian officials had arranged.

Mr Nakouzy said he hoped one day to return to Lebanon. "I never give up hope ... But I wish that things get better for the future forever."

A former New Zealand family described last night how they fled Beirut when the bombing got closer to their apartment.

Ali and Fatimah Weaver, who live in Sydney and previously lived in Whakatane, had been staying 3km from a Beirut suburb flattened by Israel.

"It's something I will never forget," Mr Weaver said. "You have to keep your sliding windows open so they don't shatter against each other. It's quite scary ... In the evening everything echoes more. We were living on the eighth level. We could see the destruction quite clearly through the night. When the bombs started to get closer we decided to leave."

That meant cutting short the alternative treatment their son Idris had been having for a brain tumour.

* Prime Minister Helen Clark said New Zealand strongly supported the efforts of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to bring about an immediate ceasefire.

- NZPA