Beirut airport stands paralyzed as flights to and from the region were cancelled or delayed on Monday in the wake of escalating tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.
This comes after Lebanon’s armed group Hezbollah targeted a football pitch in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killing 12 children and teens.
As per Reuters, multiple airlines have announced the suspension of their flights to and from Beirut, including the Lufthansa Group, and Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines. Turkish Airlines also cancelled two flights overnight on Sunday, as per Flightradar 24.
Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet, Turkey’s SunExpress, Greek Aegean Airlines, and Ethiopian Air also cancelled flights scheduled to land in Beirut on Monday.
The Golan Heights attack has fuelled concerns of an impending full-blown war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, especially after Israel’s security cabinet gave the green light to the government to respond to the attack. Hezbollah has denied involvement.
For the unversed, the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, Lebanon’s sole airport, has previously been targeted during the country’s civil war, and also during the last war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
Israel has already responded to the Golan Heights strike, with a drone strike in Southern Lebanon killing two on Monday.
