by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 8:55 AM ET, Tue October 22, 2024
Tel Aviv, Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport briefly halted takeoffs on Monday evening this week as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continues to worsen.
The Israel Aviation Authority did not provide a reason for the pause in service, but the Israel Defense Forces, according to The Times of Israel, reported that helicopters and fighter jets shot down five drones over the Mediterranean Sea before they could enter the county’s airspace and that a rocket fired from Lebanon had landed in an open area near Tel Aviv and the Sharon region.
The rocket could be heard in the city, though sirens did not sound because the rocket did not pose a direct threat to people.
According to the IDF, Hezbollah had fired over 100 rockets in the country’s northern areas on October 21. It also reported destroying around 15 short-range Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon that same day.
U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein told Lebanese officials that day that the conflict had “escalated out of control.”
It’s been over one year since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began. Since then, every major American airline has halted its service to Israel. Delta most recently announced it wouldn’t consider restarting service to Israel until the end of March, 2025.
On October 1, over 80 flights flying over the Middle East had to be diverted when Iran attacked Israel with long-range missiles. The impacted flights, which included Lufthansa, British Airways and Emirates flights, ended up diverting to places like Istanbul, Cairo and even some destinations in Europe.
The U.S. State Department categorizes Israel as a Level 3 risk, with some regions being a Level 4, encouraging travelers not to visit the country. On September 28, it also issued a Level 4 warning for Americans in Lebanon, encouraging them to leave the country due to the conflict’s escalation there.
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