Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport reopens after brief suspension amid escalating tension with Hezbollah

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) – Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport reopened Sunday morning after a brief suspension following the Israeli military's massive air raid on southern Lebanon, which it called a "preemptive strike" against Hezbollah.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that the airport's operations are back to normal following a brief suspension, with some flights redirected to nearby airports, but no further details are provided.

On Sunday morning, Israel's Army Radio reported that the military conducted an air raid in Lebanon with 100 warplanes targeting more than 200 sites.

Hezbollah was preparing to launch hundreds of rockets and missiles at key strategic installations in central Israel at around 5:00 a.m. (0200GMT), the radio claimed, citing military sources.

The Israeli army began its preemptive strike around 4:30 a.m., just 30 minutes before the planned Hezbollah attack, it added.

According to the Ben Gurion International Airport website, some flights have been canceled and others suffered disruptions by the temporary closure on Sunday morning.

Earlier Sunday morning, Hezbollah announced it had launched 320 rockets at Israeli military sites as part of the “first phase” of its retaliation for the assassination of its leader Fouad Shukr by Tel Aviv in late July.

Since October 8, 2023, Lebanon’s Hezbollah has been engaged in daily exchanges of fire with the Israeli army across the Blue Line, resulting in hundreds of casualties, mostly on the Lebanese side.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 40,300 Palestinians since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas incursion. The military campaign has reduced much of the territory to rubble and left most of the people homeless, hungry and prone to disease.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi