Western nations cancel flights to Lebanon amid rising Israeli threats

07/31/2024 / By Richard Brown

Flights to and from Beirut airport faced cancellations and delays on July 29 due to Israeli threats of an attack on Lebanon, following the massacre in the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Air France and the low-cost airline Transavia France halted their flights between Paris and Beirut on July 29 and 30 due to the security situation in Lebanon, according to a spokesperson for the airlines.

Lufthansa, Swiss and Eurowings, all part of the Lufthansa Group, have suspended their flights to and from Beirut until August 5 due to ongoing developments in West Asia, according to a group spokesperson.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) cited insurance risks as the reason for disruptions to its schedule. (Related: U.S. Embassy in Beirut tells Americans: DON’T TRAVEL to Lebanon.)

This escalation follows a strike in the occupied Golan Heights on Saturday afternoon, where a missile fell on a soccer field in the town of Majdal Shams, resulting in the deaths of twelve people, including ten children.

Israeli authorities claimed that Hezbollah was responsible for this attack and identified the type of rocket used as an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket. However, Hezbollah categorically denied any involvement or responsibility.

“The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon categorically denies the allegations reported by some enemy media outlets and various media platforms regarding the targeting of Majdal Shams and confirms that the Islamic Resistance has no connection to the incident at all and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard,” Hezbollah said on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses at the scene reported that it was an Israeli Iron Dome interceptor missile that fell on the field, according to an Al-Arabi TV correspondent who spoke with a member of Israel’s ambulance service, Magen David Adom. Hezbollah additionally informed the UN the same day that it was an Israeli interceptor missile that fell on the field.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said on July 28 that Israel is responsible for the deaths and warned that it is using the incident to blame Hezbollah and “ignite” the region.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited bereaved families in Majdal Shams and promised that the army would take all necessary measures to restore security and ensure that life returns to normal. “Hezbollah will pay a price for this – our actions will speak volumes,” he added.

Israeli strike kills Hezbollah commander

Israel’s response was swift and decisive.

Israel’s forces killed a top Hezbollah commander in a targeted strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

In a statement late Tuesday, Israel’s military announced, “Israeli Air Force fighter jets eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s most senior military commander and the head of its Strategic Unit, Fuad Shukr ‘Sayyid Muhsan,’ in the area of Beirut.”

Describing him as a “right-hand man” to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the statement said Fuad Shukr was responsible for several operations, including the attack that killed 12 children and teenagers and wounded several people in Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

Hezbollah, a powerful Lebanese militia and political movement supported by Iran, has denied any involvement in Saturday’s Majdal Shams attack. The group has not commented on Tuesday’s strike in Beirut.

A large explosion ripped through the streets of southern Beirut Tuesday evening after Israeli forces struck an apartment building, leaving it partially collapsed. Police closed off the roads as ambulances rushed to the area. People were shouting, “My family was inside, my family is inside!” as they ran toward the explosion.

Israel had made it clear that it would retaliate for Saturday’s rocket attack, which it blamed on Hezbollah. “Hezbollah crossed the red line,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday.

The strike occurred as the international community urged restraint from both sides, fearing that an escalation on the Israel-Lebanon border could spark an all-out war.

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