Escalation in Gaza to Pressure Israel to Cease Fire

Students return to schools in Gaza Strip after five months suspension period (EPA)
Students return to schools in Gaza Strip after five months suspension period (EPA)
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Escalation in Gaza to Pressure Israel to Cease Fire

Students return to schools in Gaza Strip after five months suspension period (EPA)
Students return to schools in Gaza Strip after five months suspension period (EPA)

The Israeli army announced on Sunday that a military force on its borders with Gaza Strip came under fire from the Strip, but no injuries were reported.

According to news by Israeli websites, shots were heard by workers during construction work on the separation barrier in the southern part of the Palestinian enclave.

“The works on the security fence were halted and smoke shells were deployed in the area,” the Israeli army said in a statement.

“As Israeli troops were dispatched to the scene, shots from the Strip were fired at them. No injuries were reported,” the statement added.

The Eshkol Regional Council stated that following the incident, the Israeli army also closed the routes leading to the border fence.

Israel responded by targeting Hamas monitoring checkpoints, east of Deir Al-Balah, in the Strip’s central region.

The occupation’s artillery located on the Strip’s borders fired shells at several observatories for the resistance, Palestinian sources said, confirming that no casualties were reported.

These developments come in light of a gradual escalation by Hamas and Palestinian factions to pressure Israel and oblige it to abide by the ceasefire agreement.

During the past few days, the factions launched a series of incendiary balloons after Hamas gave the green light to resume their launch following several months’ halt.

These balloons provoked Israel, which responded on Thursday night with raids on underground Hamas infrastructure in the northern Gaza Strip.

Hamas and the factions’ resumption of firing incendiary balloons indicates their dissatisfaction with the way the truce agreement is being implemented in the Strip.

In late 2019, Israel reached an agreement with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, under Egypt’s auspices.

The agreement stipulates that Israel eases its blockade on Gaza, by allowing the expansion of land trade between Gaza and Israel, expanding the fishing zone in Gaza, expediting the construction of the gas pipeline to help solve the chronic power shortage in the Strip, introducing materials that were prohibited increasing the number of merchants and allowing workers to exit Gaza.

In return, Hamas would reduce and stop the weekly demonstrations at the border fence and work hard to prevent the firing of rockets by armed movements towards Israel.

If its first phase succeeds, the long-term agreement ensures building a port, airport, hospital and an industrial zone.

However, during the past few months, the relationship between Israel and Hamas was unstable, during which Israel introduced some facilitations into the Strip, froze them before reintroducing them, according to field developments.

The Islamic Jihad threatened Sunday that Israel “will bear the consequences of anything that happens to the residents or farmers in Gaza as a result of the escalation.”

“The random shootings by the army forces at the residents of the Gaza Strip continue to repeat themselves. This is a clear threat that endangers the residents’ lives.”



War Shakes Middle East Airports, Passengers Held Hostage

Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)
Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)
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War Shakes Middle East Airports, Passengers Held Hostage

Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)
Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)

The Israeli-Iranian war has severely disrupted air traffic across the Middle East, causing widespread airport closures and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Travelers have been left stranded or forced to reroute their journeys amid altered takeoff and landing schedules, with many airports affected by military use of their airspace by both Tel Aviv and Tehran for warplanes, missiles, and drones.

Thousands of passengers have had to substitute flights with land or sea travel to avoid danger or endure long waits for alternate air transport.

Since the Israeli airstrikes on Iran that began in the early hours of last Friday, followed by Iran’s retaliatory drone and missile attacks, the airspace over Israel, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq has been closed.

Aviation sources reported that more than 650 flights bound for Europe were canceled. Gulf and European carriers have suspended flights to countries caught in the conflict zone.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that airlines are now using safer flight routes, deliberately avoiding Iraqi, Syrian, Jordanian, and Lebanese airspace, as well as the fully closed skies of Israel and Iran.

Some carriers operating emergency flights to Beirut, Amman, and Egypt are following strict safety protocols.

Flights departing Beirut airport are routed westward over the Mediterranean Sea toward Cyprus and then Greece, before continuing to Europe or the Gulf, deliberately avoiding Lebanese, Syrian, and Iraqi airspace—a sharp contrast to pre-conflict routes.

Several Arab and European airlines, including Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, Air France, Transavia, Lufthansa, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Pegasus, continue to suspend flights to the region. The disruption has hit operations at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, which experienced chaos in the initial days of the war and widespread passenger panic.

However, the airport has since begun stabilizing. Amin Jaber, Director General of Civil Aviation at Rafic Hariri Airport, said the facility “has overcome the initial disruption quickly by implementing swift solutions for stranded travelers.”

He added that a newly formed crisis management committee is closely monitoring risks hour by hour to keep flights clear of security threats.

Jaber confirmed that the conflict “has forced the crisis committee to adopt multiple flight paths for arrivals and departures at Rafic Hariri Airport.”

“Due to security concerns, we rely on the western runway, which is the safest, and use Cypriot airspace to steer aircraft away from missile threats. Whenever missile launches are detected, Lebanese airspace is immediately closed to all flights,” Jaber added.

The disruptions seen at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport mirror the wider chaos across the region’s airports. Jaber said all airlines operating arrivals and departures at Beirut have comprehensive risk assessments in place.

Beirut airport experienced significant turmoil during the first two days of the conflict, with hundreds of passengers forced to wait indefinitely after numerous flight cancellations and schedule changes.

Many opted to leave the airport and return to the city amid the uncertainty. Jaber noted that conditions have since improved both at Beirut and other airports that have partially suspended operations.

Before any civilian aircraft takes off or lands, airport authorities and airlines ensure no immediate threats jeopardize the safety of planes or passengers.

Former Middle East Airlines (MEA) pilot Mohammad Aziz told Asharq Al-Awsat that flight safety responsibility rests not with pilots alone, but with the risk assessment committees, civil aviation authorities, airport management, and air traffic control towers guiding pilots during flight.

Aziz revealed that planes are equipped with large fuel reserves allowing extended flight time to accommodate emergencies requiring route changes or longer airborne holding patterns.

Currently serving as a safety and security advisor to MEA’s chairman, Captain Aziz highlighted that Rafic Hariri Airport is among the least vulnerable to missile threats because its flight paths are directed west and north. He warned, however, that the greatest danger lies in flights over Syrian territory.

“Despite this,” Aziz said, “Beirut airport management exercises the utmost caution. The control tower and airport authorities remain on high alert, maintaining constant communication with pilots to reroute or divert flights to alternate airports if evolving conditions threaten aircraft and passengers.”