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Flights Suspended, Countries Urge Citizens to Leave Lebanon amid Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Civil defense members and people gather near a site hit by what security sources said was a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir Purchase Licensing Rights
Civil defense members and people gather near a site hit by what security sources said was a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir Purchase Licensing Rights
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Flights Suspended, Countries Urge Citizens to Leave Lebanon amid Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Civil defense members and people gather near a site hit by what security sources said was a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir Purchase Licensing Rights
Civil defense members and people gather near a site hit by what security sources said was a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir Purchase Licensing Rights

The United States on Wednesday raised its travel advisory on Lebanon to its highest "do not travel" classification, citing rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah after a strike on southern Beirut killed a top commander of the armed group.

"Do Not Travel to Lebanon due to rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. If you are in Lebanon, be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate," the advisory said, adding that citizens in southern Lebanon or in refugee settlements should leave.

Switzerland also urged its nationals to leave Lebanon, noting the highly volatile situation in the country.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group said Wednesday that senior military commander Fuad Shukr was inside a south Beirut building hit by Israel the previous day but said his fate remained unknown.

For its part, Australia has asked its citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately, saying there was a real risk that the tensions between Israel and militant group Hezbollah could escalate seriously. The request follows similar advisory by Britain this week.

"Now is the time to leave, the security situation could deteriorate quickly with little or no notice," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a video posted on social media platform X late on Wednesday.

Wong said Beirut airport could shut down completely if the situation worsens, potentially stranding people wishing to leave for "an extended period" and urged Australians to use commercial flights while they operate.

Meanwhile, Air France and low-cost carrier Transavia France said Wednesday their flights between Paris and Beirut would remain suspended till the weekend due to the "security situation" in Lebanon.

The two airlines had planned to resume flights on Wednesday, but said they will now remain grounded until Saturday.

"The resumption of operations will be subject to a new assessment of the local situation," an Air France statement said.

Both carriers stopped servicing the route on Monday, a day after Israel vowed to retaliate following rocket fire it blamed on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah that killed 12 people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

The rocket attack on the Golan sparked fears that fighting between Hezbollah and Israel would escalate.

When those fears subsided somewhat they announced on Tuesday that flights would resume on Wednesday.

But as Israel then struck the Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut on Tuesday evening, targeting a senior commander it blamed for the rocket strike on the Golan Heights.

Hezbollah said Wednesday the commander was inside the building hit by Israel but that his fate remained unknown.

German carrier Lufthansa has suspended flights until August 5.

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Arab World

UN Expert Condemns ‘Torture’ of Palestinian Prisoners in Israel

Israeli soldiers stand guard during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers stand guard during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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UN Expert Condemns ‘Torture’ of Palestinian Prisoners in Israel

Israeli soldiers stand guard during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers stand guard during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 16, 2026. (Reuters)

A United Nations expert on Tuesday raised alarm over the alleged "torture" of Palestinian prisoners and "potentially unlawful deaths" in Israeli prisons since October 2023.

The comments come as Israel faces growing scrutiny over detention conditions following the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas inside Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

"Emergency measures introduced after 7 October 2023 exposed Palestinian detainees to torture, potentially unlawful deaths, incommunicado detention, and degrading conditions," said Alice Jill Edwards, the UN special rapporteur on torture.

Quoted in a UN statement seen by AFP, she argued the "number and cruelty of allegations" point to a "gross disregard by Israel of its duty to treat all detainees humanely".

Edwards said she had gathered information on 52 cases involving various forms of torture or ill-treatment, as well as 33 cases of sexual torture and other forms of sexual abuse.

Reported abuses include "severe beatings, stress positions, excessive restraints, electrocution, sleep deprivation, malnutrition and starvation" among many others.

She also expressed concern over reports of at least 94 deaths in custody since October 2023 that had not been investigated.

Autopsies in several cases revealed multiple rib fractures, skin hemorrhages and injuries to internal organs, including abdominal tears, she said.

"Behind every allegation is a human being who was wholly dependent on those exercising power over them," Edwards said, calling for "full, independent and transparent" investigations and accountability.

In a communication to Israeli authorities, she noted that none of the 1,680 complainants filed against Israeli intelligence services had led to indictments.

She urged Israel to review and revise its detention laws, policies and practices.

More than 9,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli jails, including 2,200 serving sentences.

Arab World

Board of Peace Will Ask the UN Security Council to Press Hamas to Disarm

A Palestinian boy stands next to plastic containers on a trolley, as he and others collect portable drinking water for their displaced family living in shelters after homes were destroyed in Israeli bombardment, in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on May 18, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian boy stands next to plastic containers on a trolley, as he and others collect portable drinking water for their displaced family living in shelters after homes were destroyed in Israeli bombardment, in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on May 18, 2026. (AFP)
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Board of Peace Will Ask the UN Security Council to Press Hamas to Disarm

A Palestinian boy stands next to plastic containers on a trolley, as he and others collect portable drinking water for their displaced family living in shelters after homes were destroyed in Israeli bombardment, in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on May 18, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian boy stands next to plastic containers on a trolley, as he and others collect portable drinking water for their displaced family living in shelters after homes were destroyed in Israeli bombardment, in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on May 18, 2026. (AFP)

The body overseeing the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza will ask the United Nations Security Council to press the Hamas group to disarm, according to a report seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The report by the Board of Peace, an international body set up by US President Donald Trump and tasked with overseeing the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, is expected to be discussed by the Security Council on Thursday when it meets on the situation in the Middle East.

“At this stage, the principal obstacle to full implementation (of the ceasefire) remains Hamas’ refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control, and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza,” the report said.

Hamas in a statement rejected the report and said it contains “fallacies.”

A diplomat familiar with the report confirmed its authenticity, speaking on condition of anonymity because it has not been made public.

Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan calls on Hamas to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels. It also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, deployment of an international security force and the rebuilding of the battered Palestinian enclave after more than two years of war.

Board of Peace head has said the ceasefire has stalled

Last week, the head of the Board of Peace, former UN Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov, acknowledged that the truce had stalled since taking effect in October, saying the deadlock over disarming Hamas had paralyzed progress.

“Reconstruction cannot commence where weapons have not been laid down,” the board’s report to the Security Council says. “The critical variable — the single factor that unlocks every other element of the plan — is the conclusion of an agreement on the Roadmap for the full implementation of the plan that includes full decommissioning by Hamas and all armed groups in Gaza.”

The Palestinian group, which led the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, has accused Israel of failing to meet its obligations under the first phase of the ceasefire and has sought to link any demilitarization to Israeli troop pullbacks. Israel’s military has expanded its control of Gaza since the truce took effect and now controls some 60% of the territory.

The new report calls on the Security Council to “reiterate publicly, clearly and consistently that the decommissioning of weapons in Gaza is not merely a requirement (of the UN’s resolution to end the war) but critical for reconstruction to begin, for a timebound Israeli forces withdrawal, and for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood to be pursued.”

The Security Council endorsed the Board of Peace in a resolution in November.

Hamas says the report tries to derail the ceasefire

Hamas said the report “contains a number of fallacies that absolve the occupying government of its responsibilities for the daily violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.”

The group said the report ignored Israel’s “failure to uphold the majority of its commitments” in the ceasefire deal, including the continued restrictions on crossings into the Palestinian territory and preventing the entry of material and equipment needed to repair basic infrastructure and shelter for the largely displaced population.

“The report’s adoption of the occupation’s conditions regarding disarmament is a dubious attempt to muddy the waters and derail the ceasefire agreement,” Hamas said in a statement.

It called on the Security Council and Mladenov to compel Israel to fulfill its commitments under the ceasefire' deal's first phase, "foremost among them the cessation of the daily aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza.”

The ceasefire has seen numerous violations The report noted near-daily ceasefire violations, “some of which are serious, and their human consequences — civilians killed, families living in fear, and continued impediments to humanitarian access — cannot be minimized.”

Israel’s military still carries out airstrikes in Gaza despite the ceasefire and has pushed deeper into the territory, where it now controls more than it was granted under the ceasefire agreement. Living conditions are dire, with most of the territory’s 2 million people living in tent camps lacking basic services.

Mladenov last week said his office is addressing violations by both sides on a daily basis. But he repeatedly cited the disarmament issue as a central sticking point, saying Hamas’ obligation to give up its arsenal is “not negotiable" and that progress on all other issues was being held up.

Arab World

Israel Military Issues Fresh Evacuation Warnings for South Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on on May 19, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on on May 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Military Issues Fresh Evacuation Warnings for South Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on on May 19, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shmali on on May 19, 2026. (AFP)

The Israeli military on Tuesday warned residents of 12 towns and villages in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate ahead of expected attacks against Hezbollah, the latest despite a ceasefire.

"Hezbollah's continued violations of the ceasefire compel the army to operate against it. The army does not intend to harm you. For your safety, we urge you to distance yourself from the area and immediately move at least 1,000 meters away," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported a new series of Israeli strikes targeting several locations in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in a statement that it had targeted a gathering of soldiers and vehicles in northern Israel with "a swarm of attack drones."

The Iran-backed group also claimed responsibility for new attacks against Israeli forces operating inside Lebanese territory.

The Israeli military said that following sirens in several areas of northern Israel, a drone "that crossed from Lebanon to Israeli territory was intercepted".

Since the start of the ceasefire on April 17, Israel has continued to launch strikes, carry out demolitions and issue evacuation orders in south Lebanon, saying it is targeting the group.

Hezbollah has also continued operations against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

On Monday, the Lebanese health ministry said the death toll from Israeli strikes since the start of the war on March 2 had reached 3,020.

The Israeli military says it has lost 20 soldiers and one civilian contractor in southern Lebanon since the war began.