Flights to Israel diverted to Egypt amid escalation with Hezbollah

Flights heading to Israel’s Ben Gurion airport were disrupted and diverted to Cairo early on Sunday amidst escalations between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli media reported.

The disruptions affected take-off and landing operations at the airport, with the Israeli Airport Authority announcing further diversions to Cairo, the Hebrew news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

Two Ethiopian Airlines flights were diverted to Cairo before later returning to Ethiopia.

The Airport Authority later announced that after assessing the situation, Ben Gurion airport resumed operations again at 7am.

The authority advised travellers to update their travel information and check for any updates on the website before leaving home.

The disruptions came after Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant declared a state of emergency throughout Israel, after Hezbollah retaliated early on Sunday morning for the killing of their senior commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike on 30 July.

The Israeli army said its jets hit targets in Lebanon shortly before the military assessed Hezbollah was preparing to launch the attacks.

The army said what they called the "preemptive" attack came after they detected Hezbollah was planning on launching hundreds of missiles towards central Israel at 5am.

Lebanon’s official news agency said one person was critically injured in a drone attack in Qasimia in southern Lebanon, and a later Israeli air raid killed one person in the Lebanese town of Khiam.

Meanwhile, there were also reports of some injuries in the Israeli city of Acre.

Royal Jordanian Airlines also suspended flights to Beirut on Sunday, “due to the current situation”, the state news agency reported.

Officials told the Reuters news agency there was no disruption to Jordanian airspace.

Ports in Israel were also affected by the disruptions, according to the Arabic news site Arabi21.

No ships from any Arab countries other than Egypt arrived in Israel during the period of escalation, Arabi21 reported.

Egyptian ports are considered vital points for transporting goods to and from Israel, due to their proximity to the ports of Ashdod and Haifa, reducing shipping costs.