A major war in the Middle East is “a real danger,” a cabinet minister warned after hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalated overnight.
Early Sunday, the Israeli military launched a so-called preemptive strike against the militant group in southern Lebanon, saying it had discovered plans to attack Israel.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group based in southern Lebanon, launched a series of drone strikes on targets in Israel, saying it was acting in response to the killing of one of its top commanders in an airstrike on Beirut last month.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said Britain was “very concerned” about the escalation.
“Even as this plays out, the British government and the international community call on all parties not to escalate the situation further and to avoid a major regional war. That is the real danger for the region,” he said.
Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire across the border in Lebanon. Pictured is an Israeli bombing outside Zibquin, Lebanon.
In Tyre, Lebanon, people are enjoying the beautiful weather on the beach despite the bombing.
Travellers were harassed at Lebanon’s main airport in Beirut after airlines cancelled their flights due to the threat of repeated rocket attacks.
“We hope that it does not come to that and that we can de-escalate the situation afterwards.”
British ministers took part in international diplomatic efforts to prevent a further escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which broke out after the terrorist group’s attack on Israel last October.
Since taking office last month, new Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey have visited the region, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned the Iranian president in a phone call this month against attacking Israel.
Iran supports both Hamas and Hezbollah and has previously expressed a desire to make Israel “regret” an airstrike on Tehran that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The outbreak of hostilities on Sunday came as Egypt hosted another round of talks aimed at bringing an end to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
According to reports from the region, there were no further attacks after the first exchange of fire early Sunday, but the situation remains tense.
British Airways and Wizz Air have cancelled flights to Tel Aviv in response to the strikes and Virgin Atlantic has postponed the resumption of flights to Israel following a safety assessment.
British Airways flights are not expected to resume until Thursday at the earliest, while a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said the airline would not resume daily flights until September 25 at the earliest.
Virgin Atlantic has announced it will extend the suspension of its flights to Israel following a “security assessment” as hostilities in the Middle East escalated overnight.
From 25 September, the airline will resume daily flights in both directions between Heathrow and Tel Aviv.
It was one of many airlines that suspended flights to Israel in October last year after the conflict with Hamas broke out in the country.
Wizz Air and British Airways resumed operations to the country in March and April respectively.
Virgin Atlantic’s flight operations were scheduled to resume on September 5.
Hezbollah and Israel exchange fire over the Lebanese border. Pictured: A Hezbollah drone is destroyed by the Israeli Air Force.
Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said Britain was “very concerned” about the escalation of tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.
The delay came after the Israeli military said on Sunday it had launched “preemptive strikes” against the militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
According to the airline’s online flight status tool, British Airways flights between Heathrow and Tel Aviv were cancelled between Sunday and Tuesday, with subsequent flights showing as “diverted”.
The airline was asked for comment.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said on Sunday: “Following the recent safety assessment and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the restart of our Tel Aviv services.”
“Daily flights from London to Tel Aviv are scheduled to resume on 25 September. We would like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience this may cause.”
“Our teams will be in touch with all those affected to discuss options, which include rebooking for a later date or a full refund. In the meantime, customers can benefit from our partnership with EL AL, which operates several daily flights between Heathrow and Ben Gurion Airport.”
“We remain committed to our services to Israel and look forward to resuming flights to Tel Aviv as soon as the situation allows.”
The airline announced that an Airbus A330 will be used for the resumed flights between London and Tel Aviv.
British Airways has suspended flights between London and Tel Aviv following the overnight escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.
A spokesman for the airline said on Sunday: “We are continuously monitoring the situation in the Middle East and have made the operational decision to suspend our flights to and from Tel Aviv until Wednesday, August 28th.”
“Safety is always our top priority and we contact customers to advise them on their travel options.”
Wizz Air said flights to and from Israel had been suspended due to the “escalating situation in the region.”
A Wizz Air spokesman said on Sunday: “Due to the escalating situation in the region, Wizz Air is temporarily suspending flights to and from Israel on August 25.”
The airline said affected passengers would be offered a full refund, free rebooking or “a 120% refund in Wizz credit”.
“If passengers booked through an online travel agent or other third-party provider, they should contact them to obtain a refund or rebook on an alternative flight,” the spokesperson added.
