Air India announced on Friday that it has suspended its flights to and from Tel Aviv till August 8 amid growing tensions in West Asia.
“We are continuously monitoring the situation and are extending support to our passengers with confirmed bookings for travel to and from Tel Aviv during this period, with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges,” the airline stated on Friday. “Safety of our guests and crew remains our foremost priority.”
Tensions in West Asia escalated after Israel attacked at least 10 targets across seven locations in Lebanon’s Beirut in overnight attacks on Tuesday. Fouad Shukur, a top military commander of the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, was killed in the strikes.
An alleged Israeli strike also killed Palestinian militant group Hamas’ top leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s Tehran.
After Haniyeh’s killing, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to take revenge against Israel.
“The criminal, terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our territory and has caused our grief, but it has also prepared the ground for a severe punishment,” Khamenei said in a social media post.
Air India had also cancelled a scheduled flight from New Delhi to Tel Aviv on Thursday citing operational reasons, reported NDTV.
Meanwhile, the Indian embassy in Lebanon advised Indian nationals to leave the country.
Indian nationals are “strongly advised against travelling to Lebanon till further notice”, the embassy had said.
Those who remain in Lebanon were advised to “exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact” with the embassy in Beirut.
The United States, Australia and Canada have also issued advisories urging their citizens not to travel and leave Lebanon.
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months amid Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza, according to the Associated Press. Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas.
Israel’s offensive against the besieged Palestinian enclave began on October 7 after Hamas militants invaded southern Israel, killing 1,200 persons and taking over 200 hostages.
Since October, Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza. The attacks have killed over 40,000 persons, including over 15,000 children.
Tel Aviv’s Tuesday attacks in Beirut were in retaliation to the July 27 airstrike in Israel-controlled Golan Heights, reported the Associated Press. Israel had blamed Hezbollah for the attacks. However, the Lebanese militant group denied any responsibility for the airstrike.
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