Lufthansa Group cancels flights to Tel Aviv, cites security concerns

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Aug 2024 21:48

A spokesperson for the group tells RIA Novosti that the cancelation of flights to Beirut will also be extended until August 12.

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Planes of German airline Lufthansa are parked at the Franz-Josef-Strauss airport in Munich, southern Germany, March 27, 2020 (AFP)

Germany's Lufthansa Group said on Thursday that it is canceling all flights to Tel Aviv until August 8 and will not resume flights to Beirut until August 12, citing "security concerns" in the region.

This came following the Israeli attacks on Beirut and Tehran, which resulted in the martyrdom of Hezbollah's top military leader Sayyed Fouad Shokor, and Hamas' Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, respectively.

A spokesperson for Lufthansa Group, which operates multiple airlines, told Russian state-run outlet RIA Novosti that "All passenger and cargo flights to Tel Aviv will be temporarily suspended starting on Tuesday night, August 1, until August 8 inclusive," while "cancellation of flights to Beirut will be extended by one week until August 12 inclusive".

Passengers of Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings, will be offered free cancellation or rebooking, the spokesperson added.

Along with the assassinations of the Resistance leaders in Beirut and Tehran, the Israeli regime targeted late month a civilian power plant and oil facilities in Yemen's Hodeidah, resulting in massive material damage and the martyrdom of six civil servants.

The Resistance Axis, which has been carrying out military operations against "Israel" and the US since last October to force an end to the genocide in Gaza, vowed to avenge its leaders and the Israeli aggressions on their countries.

In a speech delivered earlier today at a large funeral ceremony held for Hezbollah's martyred leader Sayyed Shokor, Hezbollah's chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that the recent Israeli crimes has led to the confrontation with the Resistance Axis to enter a new phase.

"We are facing a major battle where matters have surpassed the issue of support fronts," he said referring to operations conducted by the Palestinian Resistance's allies in support of Gaza, announcing: "We are in an open battle on all fronts, and it has entered a new phase .. and the escalation of the new phase depends on the Israeli reactions."