Travelers at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport faced uncertainty as Israel’s international gateway slowly resumed normal operations on Sunday.
Flights were briefly suspended at 5:20 AM as Israel launched a preemptive strike on Hezbollah. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that the Iran-backed terror group planned to strike Tel Aviv. Consequently, several flights were diverted to Ramon Airport outside the southern Israeli city of Eilat, while others were rerouted to Larnaca, Cyprus, or Cairo, Egypt.
Ben-Gurion Airport operations resumed at 7:00 AM following a security assessment.
“We are on a busy flight day, along with an unusual morning,” said Ben-Gurion director Udi Bar-Oz. “There are several international companies that have canceled their flights today, and we are in contact with them.”
Bar-Oz encouraged passengers to check with their airline before coming to the airport.
According to the Transportation Ministry, about 50,000 passengers were scheduled to pass through the airport on 323 incoming and outgoing flights.
Hezbollah fired more than 200 rockets and drones at Israel on Sunday morning, claiming it was retaliation for the assassination of Hezbollah’s “Defense Minister” Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Shukr was responsible for a rocket attack that killed 12 children on a soccer field in the Israeli Druze village of Majdal Shams.
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Around 100 fighter jets attacked and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah launch sites ready to fire at northern and central Israel. Another 40 launching areas were also struck.
Hezbollah’s barrage moderately injured one Israeli with shrapnel in the coastal city of Akko.
Many international airlines have suspended their flights to Israel as tensions remain high with Hezbollah and Iran, stranding thousands of Israelis overseas.
Nearly 80,000 Israelis were forced to evacuate their homes near the Lebanon border when Hezbollah began launching rockets and drones in October. Hezbollah leaders have stated that they will continue the attacks to prevent Israelis from returning to their homes. The attacks have killed 26 civilians and 19 soldiers on the Israeli side.
Since October 8, Hezbollah has launched more than 6,700 rockets and drones.
Israeli officials have been calling for Hezbollah to be disarmed and removed from southern Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
(WITH INPUTS FROM ANI)
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