Airlines suspend flights to Lebanon as fears grow of war between Israel and Hezbollah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks retaliation for Saturday’s deadly rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that was allegedly carried out by the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah. 

Germany's national airline Lufthansa said it had suspended five routes to and from the Lebanese capital Beirut until 5 August out of “an abundance of caution.” Its subsidiaries Swiss International Air Lines and Eurowings quickly followed suit. Air France, Turkish Airlines, Aegean Airlines, Ethiopian Air and Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines also reportedly cancelled flights due to land in Beirut on Sunday and Monday.

The news comes as relations between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah are reaching an all-time low. On Saturday, 12 children were killed in a rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that was allegedly carried out by the militant group. Hezbollah has so far denied any involvement. Israel, however, has vowed to retaliate. The country’s security cabinet on Monday authorised PM Benjamin Netanyahu to decide on when and how Israel should respond. 

The attack and Israel’s pledge to retaliate have heightened fears that the ongoing hostilities will spiral into an all-out war. Western governments are therefore urging Israel to restrain its response. On Monday, a double drone strike already hit south Lebanon, killing two people and wounding three others. Over the weekend, Israeli jets hit some towns in southern Lebanon, as well as one close to the Bekaa valley.

Hezbollah, in turn, started moving precision-guided missiles. An official with a Lebanese group told the Associated Press that Hezbollah does not want a full-blown war with Israel, but that, if war breaks out, it will fight without limits.

^{A tarmac operator accompanies a Lufthansa aircraft at Brussels Airport © BELGA PHOTO JOHN THYS}