Turkey’s national carrier, Turkish Airlines (THY), has cancelled its flights to Beirut due to safety risks posed by the rising tensions between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, the Ekonomim news website reported.
An Israeli attack in Beirut on Tuesday killed Hezbollah’s most senior military commander, who was blamed for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the weekend.
In a statement the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said “Israeli Air Force fighter jets eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s most senior military commander” Fu’ad Shukr. Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities have not yet confirmed the death.
At least three people were killed in the Israeli strike targeting a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, and 74 people were injured, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry
The retaliatory strike came after a missile hit a football field in the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights over the weekend, killing 12 children and adolescents.
Israel accused the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of carrying out the strike, to which Hezbollah issued a rare denial.
Some European airlines have also canceled flights in light of the increased tensions in the region.
The Frankfurt-based Lufthansa Group said on Monday that three of its airlines — Lufthansa, Swiss and Eurowings — decided to suspend flights to and from Beirut “up to and including” August 5, according to Euronews.
Air France also suspended some of its flights, while other airlines changed their schedules.
The Beirut airport reported that 406,396 passengers arrived in June compared to 427,854 arrivals in the same period in 2023, a decrease of 5 percent.
It also recorded 300,362 people leaving the country in June, compared to 280,366, an increase of 7 percent.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily strikes since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7 following Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel.