Lufthansa halts flights over Iraq

Shafaq News/ German airline group Lufthansa announced on Monday that it will not use Iraqi airspace for its flights and has decided to suspend all flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman, and Erbil until August 26.

Previously, Lufthansa had announced it would avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace until August 21 and suspend flights to the aforementioned cities until the same date.

The decision comes amid increasing concerns among airlines over escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The situation has intensified following the assassination of the political bureau chief of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh during a visit to Tehran, an act attributed to Israel, and the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander, Fouad Shukur, in an Israeli strike near Beirut.

Iran and its allied groups have vowed retaliation, raising the risk of further conflict in the region.