Israel issues message to Lebanese citizens amid reports of potential preemptive strike on Hezbollah
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a warning to the people of Lebanon as both Israel and Hezbollah consider first-strike options amid simmering tensions in the Middle East.
Gallant stressed that Israel seeks "peace, prosperity and stability on both sides of the northern border" in contrast to Hezbollah, who have "taken Lebanon and its people hostage for the sake of narrow sectarian interests."
"We will not allow the Hezbollah militia to destabilize the border and the region," Gallant said. "If Hezbollah continues its aggression, Israel will fight it, with all its might: Remember Nasrallah’s regret following the dangerous and miscalculated adventure he embarked on, in August 2006 - learn the lesson of the past so as not to fall into a dangerous scenario in August 2024."
Gallant then recited the Arabic proverb "He who plays with fire may expect destruction."
Hamas and Hezbollah lost top terrorists within the same week, with Iran and its proxies each blaming Israel for the assassinations. Hezbollah remains keen to avenge the death of it’s "No. 2," Fuad Shukr, and may only have greater intent following the death this week of another commander, Hassan Fares Jeshi.
Israeli media reported on Thursday that Hezbollah plans to attack Israel even if Iran backtracks on plans to retaliate for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, for which Iranian officials have blamed Israel.
Part of Hezbollah’s advantage lays in the lack of necessary preparation to launch such an attack, as displayed on Thursday as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that 25 projectiles had been launched from Hezbollah (but resulted in no injuries).
Gallant said Thursday that the IDF performs "regular situation assessments of things" and that the forces remain at "high readiness in all parameters" for any response.
"There is here a psychological attempt by the enemy to sow fear, tell stories and terrorize," Gallant said, stressing the need for "resilience and strength" from the public. "Faced with this, we need to deal with the right main things: To give an answer to the public and, above all, to get the public to listen to the instructions of the Home Front Command; this is the authority, and this is how we should address the public."
"We are working to reach a situation where we will be able to give the public sufficient warning when required, and until then, allow them to continue a normal lifestyle as much as possible," Gallant said.
"The likelihood of Israeli preemption increases if they think Hezbollah's attack will be severe, especially if it's part of a multi-front offensive," Jonathan Ruhe, Director of Foreign Policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, told Fox News Digital.
"The more Hezbollah looks like it's going to fire precision munitions and/or lots of projectiles overall, the greater Israel's incentive to move "left of launch" and take out these capabilities before they can overwhelm or evade Israel's air defenses," Ruhe said. "Most likely, this would mean airstrikes on Hezbollah launchers and command-and-control assets in Lebanon, utilizing Israel's impressive operational intel on Hezbollah."
The affront of losing the leader of a major and high-profile terror proxy group seemed too much for Iran to bear – especially as his death occurred in Tehran – but following nearly two weeks of high tensions, Iran indicated that may be reconsidering its plans, according to U.S. officials who spoke with Politico on the matter.
A combination of regional pressure from Iran’s neighbors and the threat of a direct conflict with the U.S. are believed to be the prime motivating factors as the U.S. redirected some assets to the region in an effort to impress upon Tehran the potential consequences of any further escalation.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on social media platform X that the Air Force had deployed F-22 Raptors on Thursday "as part of U.S. force posture changes in the region and to address threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups."
CENTCOM had announced the raptor deployment a full week earlier, citing again the need to deter Iranian attack on Israel.
Iranian officials also determined that Haniyeh did not die in a missile strike but in a bomb placed in his room, which would indicate a covert operation to kill him – and an operation that killed no Iranians, either, The Times of Israel reported.
U.S. officials still expect Iran to respond to Haniyeh’s death, but as time goes on, the reponse will likely take a more measured form.
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Hezbollah prepared to strike Israel independent of Iran.
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Airlines Are Suspending Flights to Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon—Here's What to Know
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, a rapidly expanding list of airlines are canceling flights to Israel as the nation prepares for an anticipated assault from Iran. Air service to neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon, is also being put on hold, as airlines respond to the evolving security situation.
The US State Department issued new Level 4 travel alerts (the highest advisory level) on July 31, warning US citizens not to travel to Lebanon or northern Israel within 2.5 miles of the Lebanese and Syrian borders, citing rising tensions between the Hezbollah militant group and Israel. Jordan remains under a standard Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution alert, which was issued on July 13.
Across the travel industry, air carriers are taking different approaches to the situation. Some have only canceled flights to Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, and other neighboring countries for a few days, while others have put their routes to Israel on a months-long hiatus stretching until next spring. Here’s the latest information on popular airlines’ operating status throughout the region.
Air Canada
In July, Air Canada pushed back the resumption of its Toronto-to-Tel Aviv route to October 15, 2024, “due to the ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East.” Flights to Tel Aviv out of Montreal won’t resume until summer 2025. “We continue to closely monitor the situation and will adjust our plans accordingly,” the carrier said.
Air France
Air France has canceled all flights between Paris and Beirut until at least August 8, Reuters reports. “The resumption of operations will be subject to a new assessment of the local situation," the carrier said in a statement to the newswire.
Air India
In a statement on X, Air India said it has suspended flights to Tel Aviv through August 8. “We are continuously monitoring the situation and are extending support to our passengers with confirmed bookings for travel to and from Tel Aviv during this period, with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges,” the statement said. “Safety of our guests and crew remains our foremost priority.”
American Airlines
Earlier this year, American Airlines suspended its flights to Tel Aviv through October 28, 2024. According to a travel waiver on its site, customers who booked a ticket before February 11, 2024, can change the travel dates on their ticket for free or cancel and request a refund.
Cathay Pacific
In July, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific suspended all flights to and from Tel Aviv until March 27, 2025, “in view of the uncertainty related to the ongoing situation in Israel.” Customers booked on the affected flights “can rebook, reroute, or refund their travel without the usual fees.”
Delta
Updating a previous statement issued on July 31, Delta extended the suspension of its flights between New York-JFK and Tel Aviv through August 31. “Delta is continuously monitoring the evolving security environment and assessing our operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports and will communicate any updates as needed,” the statement says. Affected customers have been issued a travel waiver.
EasyJet
Although its flights to Israel were slated to resume on October 27, EasyJet has extended its suspension of flights to Tel Aviv until March 29, 2025, a spokesperson for the British budget carrier tells Traveler.
Emirates
Back in November 2023, Emirates suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv “until further notice.” “We are closely monitoring the situation in Israel and are in close contact with the relevant authorities,” the Dubai-based airline’s travel updates page states.
ITA Airways
Italy’s ITA Airways has suspended flights to Tel Aviv through August 10 “due to the geopolitical developments in the Middle East and to ensure the safety of its passengers and crews,” a spokesperson tells Traveler.
KLM
Dutch carrier KLM has canceled all Tel Aviv-bound flights until at least October 26, a spokesperson tells Traveler, adding that “customers with airline tickets to and from Tel Aviv and a travel date during this period will be rebooked or receive a refund.” The airline also issued a voluntary rebooking option for flights to Beirut, which is valid for tickets issued on or before August 7, 2024.
Lufthansa Group
All airlines in the Lufthansa Group, which encompasses Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Eurowings, Swiss, and Brussels Airlines, have suspended flights to several cities in the Middle East until mid-August “based on its current security analysis.” All of the group’s flights to Amman, Beirut, Erbil, Tehran, and Tel Aviv are suspended through August 13.
United Airlines
United indefinitely suspended flights to Tel Aviv starting on July 31, according to a statement from the airline to the Washington Post. It plans to choose when to resume the route “with a focus on the safety of our customers and crews.”
Virgin Atlantic
Earlier this year, Virgin Atlantic canceled flights between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv through early September. (September 4 for the outbound leg, and September 5 for the return flight to London.) “As the dynamic situation evolves, Virgin Atlantic’s flying programme is under constant review,” the airline’s statement says.
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Germany warns citizens to leave Lebanon or make urgent preparations
Planes are seen on the runway at Beirut Rafiq Hariri International Airport. A growing number of flights have been canceled or suspended at Beirut's only commercial airport, as the US, UK, Australia, Sweden, France, Italy, Canada, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan urge their citizens to flee Lebanon as soon as possible as fears of an all-out war between Israel and pro-Iranian Hezbollah grow.
The German Foreign Office has again warned all German nationals remaining in Lebanon to leave the country or make urgent preparations, amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran - and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman in Berlin said on Thursday that another letter has been sent to Germans telling them to leave Lebanon without delay, as the world waits for Tehran's response to the killing of two leading Israeli opponents, including a Hezbollah commander.
Those who remain in the country "may have to fend for themselves in the crisis area for a longer period of time," the message said.
"The embassy has urgently called on people to stock up on food, water, medicine and cash for several weeks," the spokeswoman continued.
At the start of the week, 2,100 German citizens were still in Lebanon.
The German embassy in Lebanon said the cancellation of commercial flights, the temporary closure of the airport, or a halt to other departure options would not automatically trigger an immediate evacuation operation by the German government.
The embassy also cited other hurdles, even if an evacuation were to take place.
"It is not possible to be picked up from home; even in the event of an evacuation, you must make your own way to the specified departure point. Participation in an evacuation is not free of charge. All visa requirements remain in place, travelling is only possible with complete and valid travel documents," it added.
German security authorities on high alert at home
In Berlin, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that security authorities in the country are on high alert due to the tense situation in the Middle East.
"We are monitoring very closely how possible further escalations will affect the security situation in Germany," Faeser told the Rheinische Post regional newspaper on Thursday.
Faeser said the risk of further escalation in the Middle East was high, describing the situation as "extremely dangerous."
The German government, along with its international partners, is working hard to de-escalate the situation, Faeser said.
"Since the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent Gaza war, there has been a drastic increase in anti-Semitic crimes," Faeser said.
"Our security authorities are doing everything they can to break the spiral that leads from violence in the Middle East to even more repugnant anti-Semitism here," she added.
Faeser also noted that authorities are taking decisive action against the Islamist scene, citing the ban on the Islamic Centre Hamburg and its branches across the country in late July.
Additionally, she mentioned previous bans on the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the pro-Palestinian network Samidoun in Germany.
Faeser expressed her "sincere gratitude" to Germany's federal states for their ongoing efforts to protect Jewish and Israeli institutions in Germany through the deployment of strong police forces.
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Residents of a frontline Israeli city feel Hezbollah’s war ‘getting closer’
In Israel’s northern city of Nahariya, a sense of anxiety lingers among residents as they struggle to maintain daily life with the threat of war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah edging closer to their doorsteps.
The coastal city of 77,000 residents sits just 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the border with Lebanon, where the Israeli army and Hezbollah fighters have been exchanging fire for nearly 10 months.
Unlike many other communities at the Israel-Lebanon border that have become ghost towns since October, Nahariya stands out as one of the cities that has not been depopulated as it doesn’t fall within the evacuation zone.
Almost 62,000 residents of border communities have been displaced since Hezbollah and Israel started exchanging fire in October after Israel launched its war in Gaza. Forty-three Israelis have been killed and another 250 injured, according to the Israeli prime minister’s Office.
Across the border in Lebanon, at least 400 people have been killed since October 8 and more than 94,000 have been displaced, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Though life continues in Nahariya, streets are less busy than usual, locals told CNN. While pedestrians and motorists are present, the atmosphere contrasts sharply with Tel Aviv 80 miles down the coast, where bars, beaches and restaurants remain bustling.
Tommy Lowenstein, 67, said the situation is “tense” in the north. “We feel it. We see it in the streets, we see less people.”
Nahariya has declared a state of emergency, according to an official at the city’s municipality. Residents can hear everything from outgoing artillery fire over the border to rockets that land nearby on a daily basis, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The sound of rockets that fall in nearby towns and kibbutzim (agricultural communes) are regularly heard in Nahariya.
On Tuesday, an Israeli interceptor missile malfunctioned amid a Hezbollah drone attack, causing an impact on the Route 4 highway near Nahariya. Several people were injured, according to the IDF.
While the city’s residents have been accustomed to cross-border attacks, the conflict has escalated in recent days after Israel assassinated Hezbollah’s top military commander Fu’ad Shukr on July 30.
The next day, former Palestinian prime minister and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in an attack Iran blamed on Israel. Israel hasn’t confirmed or denied involvement.
Israel has been anticipating a retaliatory attack from Iran and its regional proxies. But two sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN on Wednesday that it looks increasingly likely that Hezbollah may strike Israel independently of Iran.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Tuesday that the group will attack Israel but is keeping the country waiting as “part of the punishment.”
Feels like war is ‘getting closer to us’
Liz Levy, 40, lives in Nahariya with her three children and says the war is taking a mental toll on her family.
“Two days ago, I had a panic attack,” she told CNN. “Every three days, there’s a siren. It’s very scary.”
Levy said she worries about bringing up her children in a climate of war, adding that her children cry whenever they hear blaring sirens warning of incoming rockets.
“My daughter, she is 7 years old, and she also had a panic attack,” she said.
Residents of the north say their experience with the conflict in the north is very different from other population centers that have been largely spared. While those living in Tel Aviv experience sporadic attacks, in the north that’s a daily occurrence, they say.
“We’re on the frontline. They (Hezbollah) are pointing at us,” Shira Jorno, 23, told CNN. “We feel it getting closer to us.”
The Nahariya municipality has added more than 40 new shelters in the city since the war began and has conducted multiple training sessions to prepare medics and emergency workers for an attack, the municipal official said.
Asked whether the city will have to evacuate if the conflict escalates, the official said there is nowhere to move such a large population.
“Nahariya has not been evacuated as a decision that was taken together with the army because there is nowhere to go,” the official told CNN, adding that as the conflict zone expands in the north, it is difficult to keep moving people south. “Now they (Hezbollah) say Haifa (will be attacked), after Haifa it will be Tel Aviv. Where do we go? To the Negev?” he said, referring to the desert region in the south of the country.
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