Lebanon-Israel tensions: International flight operations in Beirut affected

Tensions between Israel and Lebanon have escalated following a suspected rocket attack in the occupied Golan and the Israeli response, and several international airlines have suspended flights to Beirut.

According to the National News Agency (NNA), the national news agency of Lebanon , the Lufthansa Group airline and the Central Asian airline Air Lebanon have suspended their flight operations from Beirut on Monday.

Recent tensions between Israel and Lebanon have escalated after Israel's latest action affected Lebanon's Middle East Airlines (MEA) flight operations in Beirut on Monday.

According to Al Jazeera TV, MCA flights at Beirut airport have been canceled or delayed, said to be related to insurance risks, as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalate.

German airline Lufthansa announced on Monday that it has suspended five routes to Beirut with its group QSwiss International Airlines and Eurowings until July 30.

Turkish budget airline Sun Express, Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet, Greek carrier Aegean Airlines and Ethiopian Air also canceled flights to Beirut on Monday.

Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport is Lebanon's only international airport.

The airport has been targeted in the country's civil war and previous wars, including the 2006 one with Israel.

On the other hand, the Civil Defense Department of Beirut says that two people were killed in an Israeli drone strike near the southern Lebanese town of Shakra on Monday, while three people, including a child, were injured.

However, according to the British news agency Reuters, the Lebanese Rescue Service did not say whether the dead were Hezbollah fighters or civilians.

The attack comes a day after Israel threatened to kill 12 people in a suspected rocket attack in the occupied Golan.

Egypt has emphasized the importance of supporting Lebanon and protecting the region from a new war.

According to Arab News, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry warned on Sunday about the risks of an escalation and opening a new war front between Israel and the Hezbollah group.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has established diplomatic and political ties following repeated Israeli threats against Lebanon.

According to Lebanon's official news agency NNA, the prime minister stressed during the talks that "the solution to the problem lies in a complete ceasefire and the full implementation of international resolution 1701 to get rid of the violence."

He further said that Lebanon should not be dragged into this tension which will lead to undesirable consequences and further complicate matters.

Earlier on Sunday, thousands of mourners attended the funerals of 12 youths killed in a rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israel has blamed Hezbollah for a rocket attack on a football ground in the occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, saying the Lebanese organization will have to pay a heavy price.

Hezbollah has denied any responsibility for Saturday's attack, which killed 12 people and was the deadliest in Israel or a territory it holds since October 7.

The attack has raised fears of another front opening parallel to Gaza, where all-out war between the heavily armed rivals is looming.

"Hezbollah will pay a heavy price, which it has not yet paid," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a statement after the attack.

On the other hand, in a written statement, Hezbollah said: "The Islamic Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with this incident and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard."

Hezbollah had earlier announced several rocket attacks targeting Israeli military bases.

According to the French news agency AFP, Aroldo Lazaro, head of the UN agency UNIFIL, which monitors the region, has urged both Israel and Hizb to exercise "greater restraint".

He said that the exchange of rockets and intensification of attacks could ignite a wide-scale war that would surely engulf the entire region in destruction.