Lufthansa suspends flights to Erbil, Beirut, Amman and Tel Aviv
Shafaq News/ German airline group Lufthansa said on Sunday it was suspending flights to Amman, Erbil and Tel Aviv until Tuesday and flights to Beirut and Tehran until the Thursday at least following the latest violence in the Middle East.
The group, which includes the German flagship carrier as well as Swiss and Austrian airlines, said in a statement that it was continuously evaluating the security situation in the Middle East and in close contact with authorities.
The company had already said on Friday it was suspending flights to and from Tehran until April 18 and would not use Iranian airspace during that time.
Israel announced the reopening of its airspace on Sunday morning, along with Jordan and Lebanon, and Iraq, which borders Iran.
Iran on Saturday night launched a large wave of around 300 attack drones and missiles from its territory toward Israel, in the first-ever direct attack by the Islamic Republic, triggering air raid sirens throughout the country early Sunday as the military worked to intercept the Iranian projectiles.
Sirens began sounding in southern Israeli communities around 1:42 a.m., and soon after extended to large swaths of the country. Loud booms sounded across the north and the south as well as in Jerusalem and many towns across the West Bank.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed launching dozens of drones and missiles against specific targets in Israel, Iranian state media quoted a statement by the elite force as saying. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted an anonymous official saying that ballistic missiles were launched as part of the attack.
Hagari said that in total, Iran launched more than 300 projectiles at Israel, comprising 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles, and that 99% of them had been intercepted by air defenses.
The Israeli military said that the long-range Arrow air defense system managed to knock down the “vast majority” of the 120 ballistic missiles, although some penetrated Israel’s defenses and struck the southern Nevatim Airbase.
