Istanbul: Turkish Airlines, Turkiye’s flag carrier, cancelled its flights to and from Beirut on Sunday due to security concerns, the country’s NTV broadcaster reported.
The cancellation of two flights follows recent Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, according to the NTV. Tickets for flights from Istanbul to Beirut are currently unavailable on the Turkish Airlines website, though bookings for flights on Monday remain open, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier, about 100 Israeli warplanes struck and destroyed “thousands” of Hezbollah rockets and missile launcher barrels to be launched at the country, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Sunday.
The strikes targeted more than 40 launch areas in southern Lebanon, which began before dawn, the IDF said, adding that most of the launchers were aimed at northern Israel, with some directed toward central Israel.
Whoever hurt us — we hurt them,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement.
Meanwhile, Lebanese military sources said that three Hezbollah members and one member of the Amal Movement were killed, with six others injured on Sunday following Israeli bombings in Lebanon.
The sources, who requested anonymity, reported that two Hezbollah members died in an airstrike targeting a house in al-Tiri, a village in Lebanon’s border area.
Another Hezbollah member was killed and three others were wounded in an Israeli raid on the outskirts of Deir Seryan in Lebanon.
Additionally, a member of the Amal Movement was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a car in Khiam, a village in the southeast.
The sources also reported that three other individuals, including a displaced Syrian, were wounded in an airstrike on the city of Tyre in Lebanon.
The Israeli strikes were a response to a large-scale attack, carried out by Hezbollah on Sunday with hundreds of drones and rockets.
Hezbollah confirmed in a statement that it had launched drones and rockets from various positions, crossing the Lebanese-Palestinian border to its intended targets, declaring its military operation for the day complete.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati convened an emergency meeting to assess the situation and called for international intervention to halt the Israeli aggression.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) issued a joint appeal for a ceasefire and restraint from further escalation in light of the recent developments along the Blue Line.
Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border have intensified since an Israeli raid on the southern suburbs of Beirut on July 30, which killed seven Hezbollah members, including senior military commander Fouad Shokor. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah had previously promised a severe response to the Israeli action.
–IANS
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