Palestine

Lufthansa extends ban on flights to Tel Aviv

372657_LufthansaGermany’s flagship carrier, Lufthansa, has announced that its ban on flights to Tel Aviv will continue for another day due to security precautions amid the ongoing Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Europe’s largest airline said it would resume scheduled flights to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport once the protection of the facility is assured in a tangible manner.

“We will resume flights as soon as the protection of the airport is assured in a tangible manner,” Lufthansa said in a statement on Thursday.

Despite the instability and insecurity surrounding the area, US airlines resumed their flights to Tel Aviv earlier in the day. Washington had suspended all flights to Ben Gurion when a rocket, fired by Palestinians, landed near the airport on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) strongly recommended that airlines refrain from operating flights to and from Tel Aviv.

A number of the world’s leading airlines have suspended flights to Israel’s main airport after the rocket fired from Gaza struck about a mile from its runways. In a bid to resolve the issue, Israeli Transport Minister Yisrael Katz ordered Ovda Airport north of Eilat to open as a replacement.

Financial experts say the cancellation of European flights to Israel due to Palestinian rocket fire is further harming Israeli economy.

The developments come as the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has said it will step up its attacks on Israel, using new and more powerful missiles.

Hamas rockets continue to penetrate the Israeli skies due to the failure of the Iron Dome missile system. The failure of the highly-publicized system has sparked panic among Israelis.

About 800 Palestinians have been killed and over 5,050 others injured since the start of the Israeli offensive on July 8.

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