Sunday, August 25, 2024 Air France and Germany’s Lufthansa have both halted flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut in response to escalating tensions following Israel’s airstrikes on Lebanon. Air France suspended its flights scheduled for Sunday and Monday, with the possibility of extending the suspension depending on developments in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Lufthansa extended its suspension of flights to Beirut until the end of September and will not operate flights to Tel Aviv and Tehran until September 2.
These decisions were made amid growing security concerns in the region. Air France, which usually offers daily services to both cities, had previously stopped flights to Beirut from July 29 to August 15 but continued its operations to Tel Aviv during that time. The airline has not yet confirmed whether its budget subsidiary, Transavia, will also suspend flights to these destinations.
The flight suspensions follow an escalation in violence, with Israel reporting that around 100 warplanes launched airstrikes targeting rocket launchers across southern Lebanon to prevent an imminent Hezbollah attack. In response, Hezbollah claimed to have fired hundreds of rockets and drones at military bases and missile defense positions in northern Israel and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Hezbollah described its actions as retaliation for the killing of Fouad Shukur, a founding member and senior commander of the group, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.
The group stated that the initial stage of their retaliation, intended to pave the way for deeper assaults into Israel, had been completed and that their military operations on Sunday had concluded. Hezbollah also denied Israel’s claims of having thwarted their attack..
