India’s Air India has announced the suspension of flights to Israel’s Tel Aviv amid the increasingly tense situation in parts of the Middle East.
It will come into effect from Friday (August 2) and no Air India flights will fly to Tel Aviv until August 8, reports NDTV.
In a statement, Air India said, considering the current situation in the Middle East, all flights to Tel Aviv have been suspended from now on. We are monitoring the ongoing situation and assisting passengers with confirmed tickets to and from Tel Aviv. One time penalty is being waived for itinerary change and ticket cancellation. Passenger and crew safety is our top priority.
Earlier on Thursday, Air India canceled an India-bound flight from Tel Aviv.
Since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian independence group Hamas, the situation in the Middle East has been extremely tense. More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing conflict.
The recent killings of Hezbollah’s top commander Fouad Sukhar and Hamas chief Ismail Haniya have heightened tensions. Hezbollah has warned to respond to the killing of the top commander. On the other hand, Iran’s supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has promised to give Israel “severe punishment” for killing Haniya.
However, in view of the threat of Iran and its proxy forces, US President Joe Biden has assured Israel of protection. The Times of Israel says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with US President Joe Biden about the ongoing situation.
In a statement, the White House said Biden told Netanyahu that the United States would protect Israel from “all threats from Iran.” The US will not deviate from their ‘commitment’ in this regard.
