Foreign Airlines Begin to Resume Tel Aviv Flights after Gaza Truce

A passenger walks inside a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus and new coronavirus strains, in Lod, Israel, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A passenger walks inside a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus and new coronavirus strains, in Lod, Israel, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
TT
20

Foreign Airlines Begin to Resume Tel Aviv Flights after Gaza Truce

A passenger walks inside a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus and new coronavirus strains, in Lod, Israel, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A passenger walks inside a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus and new coronavirus strains, in Lod, Israel, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)

Foreign airlines on Friday made preparations to resume services to Tel Aviv hours after Israel and Hamas reached a truce after the worst violence in years.

While Israeli carrier El Al Israel Airlines kept flying, many international airlines including British Airways suspended flights to and from Israel’s main Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Others were diverted to Ramon Airport near Eilat, several hours drive away.

Delta Airlines said it had suspended flights to Tel Aviv on May 12.

“Delta plans to resume service from New York-JFK to Tel Aviv tonight,” a spokesperson said on Friday.

“We continue to closely monitor the security situation and will make adjustments to our flight schedules as necessary.”

German airline Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and SWISS aim to resume flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday, Lufthansa said.

Lufthansa had said on May 13 that it was suspending all flights to Tel Aviv due to the hostilities.

Virgin Atlantic said separately on Friday it expected to resume flights from Britain to Israel on Monday, but also said it would keep the route under constant review.

Tourism is a significant source of revenue for Israel and the neighboring Palestinian Authority although Israel controls entry into Palestinian areas and the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and militant rocket attacks on Israeli towns ceased after 11 days under an agreement mediated by Egypt.

During the last major hostilities between Israel and Hamas, a 2014 war that lasted seven weeks, Israel’s central bank estimated the country’s economy took a 3.5 billion shekel hit, plus nearly the same amount in damage to the tourism sector.



Gold Extends Gains as Trump Tariffs Fuel Safe Haven Flows

Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
TT
20

Gold Extends Gains as Trump Tariffs Fuel Safe Haven Flows

Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Gold prices rose for a second straight session on Tuesday, but traded below the recent all-time highs, as uncertainty around US President Donald Trump's tariff plans continued to fuel economic growth concerns and safe haven flows into bullion.

Spot gold gained 0.6% at $2,913.79 an ounce as of 0714 GMT. It hit a record high of $2,942.70 last week.

US gold futures added 0.9% to $2,925.50.

"Trump's disruptive modus operandi, aggressive rhetoric and tariffs - whether actual or threatened - could unravel global trade and intricate supply chains," said Nikos Tzabouras, senior financial writer at trading platform Tradu, Reuters reported.

"With uncertainty surrounding the global economy and the broader geopolitical landscape in the Trump 2.0 era, gold is set to remain a natural beneficiary of risk-off flows and central bank buying."

Since taking office last month, Trump has swiftly redrawn the global trade battlefield with a series of tariffs, while plans are already in motion for sweeping reciprocal tariffs, aimed squarely at any nation that taxes US products.

"Gold continues to benefit from the uncertainty surrounding the US. government's tariff policy. Central bank buying should also continue to provide support, even if there is no new data on this," Commerzbank analysts said in a note.

The market's focus has now shifted to the US Federal Reserve's January meeting minutes due on Wednesday for clues into the central bank's interest rate trajectory.

"Price gains are also supported by growing expectations that the Fed will cut rates in 2025 - a sentiment that gained further traction among traders after last week's disappointing US retail sales figures," Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at brokerage firm ActivTrades, said.

Bullion benefits from geopolitical and economic uncertainties, as well as rising price pressures, but higher interest rates diminish the asset's allure.

Spot silver fell 0.9% to $32.50 an ounce. Platinum jumped 0.9% to $985.20 and palladium climbed 1.6% to $978.00.