Due to tensions in the Middle East, airlines are suspending their flights to Beirut

ANKARA/GENEVA

Due to escalating tensions between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, many flights to and from Beirut airport were either canceled or delayed on Monday.

The German airline Lufthansa has announced the suspension of flights to the Lebanese capital Beirut, citing current developments in the Middle East, a spokesman said on Monday.

The suspension will affect flights operated by SWISS, Eurowings and Lufthansa until at least Tuesday, a spokesman for the airline group said.

“A total of five rotations will be removed from the flight program,” the spokesman added.

A similar decision was made by Air France, which announced a two-day suspension of flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and Beirut, effective Monday, according to France 24.

The low-cost airline Transavia also stopped its flights.

The decision came amid an escalation of Israeli threats that culminated after a rocket attack on the town of Majdal Shams in Syria’s occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. The incident has heightened tensions along Israel’s border with Lebanon and Hezbollah.

The attack left 12 members of the Druze community dead, most of them children, and about 40 others injured.

While Israel blames the Lebanese Hezbollah for Saturday’s attack in Majdal Shams, the group itself denies any responsibility.

With repeated cross-border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, fears are growing that a full-scale war could break out between the two sides.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli assault on Gaza, in which more than 39,300 people have been killed since last October following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

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