Flights Cancelled Amid Hezbollah-Israel Escalation

Passengers wait for their flights at the Beirut International Airport in Beirut on August 25, 2024. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
Passengers wait for their flights at the Beirut International Airport in Beirut on August 25, 2024. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
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Flights Cancelled Amid Hezbollah-Israel Escalation

Passengers wait for their flights at the Beirut International Airport in Beirut on August 25, 2024. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
Passengers wait for their flights at the Beirut International Airport in Beirut on August 25, 2024. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

Several airlines have cancelled flights to Beirut after Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel on Sunday and Israel's military said it struck Lebanon with about 100 jets.

Jordan's flag carrier Royal Jordanian suspended flights to Beirut "due to the current situation,” the state news agency reported without giving an exact time frame for the suspension.

Officials told Reuters there was no disruption to Jordanian airspace.

As for Air France, it cancelled its flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until Monday at least, the company said.

On Friday, German airline giant Lufthansa said it was extending a suspension of flights to Beirut until September 30.

Lebanon's civil aviation authority emphasised Sunday that "the airport is functioning normally" despite some disruptions.

There is "no truth" to rumours that all flights have been cancelled, said a statement from the authority carried by the official National News Agency.

A number of airlines had already announced flight suspensions or cancellations to Beirut in recent weeks, with some later resuming services.



Hezbollah Official Says Response to Top Commander’s Killing was 'Delayed by Political Considerations'

Tyre, Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Purchase Licensing Rights
Tyre, Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Purchase Licensing Rights
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Hezbollah Official Says Response to Top Commander’s Killing was 'Delayed by Political Considerations'

Tyre, Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Purchase Licensing Rights
Tyre, Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Purchase Licensing Rights

A Hezbollah official said on Sunday that the group's rocket and drone attack against Israel on Sunday in retaliation for a top commander's killing last month had been delayed by "political considerations," chiefly among them the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal for the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

The official, in written comments shared with media outlets, said the group had "worked" to make sure its response to the killing of Fuad Shukr on July 30 would not trigger a full-scale war.

Also on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel took pre-emptive action against Hezbollah in Lebanon and said air defenses had intercepted all rockets and drones launched against Israel.

He said that the leaders of Hezbollah and Iran should know that the response was "another step towards changing the situation in the north and returning our residents safely to their homes" and that "this is not the end of the story".