FRANKFURT: Top European airlines Lufthansa, KLM and Swiss on Tuesday announced that they were extending their suspension of flights to the Middle East, as tensions spiral throughout the region.
The moves come as Israel launched strikes on Beirut and a senior White House official warned that Iran was preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack “imminently” against Israel.
KLM has pushed out until the end of the year the suspension of its once-daily flight to Tel Aviv “given the situation in the region,” spokeswoman Elvira van der Vis told AFP.
The Dutch airline had already announced in August that it was suspending flights to Israel until October 26.
Also on Tuesday, German airline group Lufthansa said it was suspending flights to Beirut up to and including November 30.
Lufthansa group flights to Tel Aviv will be canceled until October 31 while trips to Tehran remain canceled until October 14.
“We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers,” the group said.
Later on Tuesday the Lufthansa group said that it had also decided to “avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Jordanian airspace up to and including 2 October,” adding that “flights will continue to avoid Israeli airspace up to and including 31 October.”
The Lufthansa group — whose carriers also include Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines — has repeatedly modified its flight schedule in recent months due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, as have other airlines.
Following the example of its parent company, Swiss said the extension of its flight suspensions was “intended to provide more predictability for both our passengers and our crews.”
The Israeli army said it had launched a ground offensive in Lebanon and that its forces engaged in clashes on Tuesday, further escalating the conflict after a week of intense air strikes that killed hundreds.
Meanwhile, a senior White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the United States has indications that Iran was preparing to launch a missile attack against Israel “imminently.”
“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack,” the official said, warning that such an action would “carry severe consequences for Iran.”
European airlines extend suspension of Middle East flights
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European airlines extend suspension of Middle East flights
- The moves come as Israel launched strikes on Beirut and a senior White House official warned that Iran was preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack
- Also on Tuesday, German airline group Lufthansa said it was suspending flights to Beirut up to and including November 30
Syria nears anniversary of Assad’s fall amid renewed ‘deeply troubling’ abuses, UN warns
- Early steps by interim leadership ‘encouraging but only the beginning’ of long process of accountability, human rights chief says
- Concern that rising hate speech, both online and on the streets, has intensified violence against Alawite, Druze, Christian, Bedouin communities
NEW YORK: Syria is days away from marking the first anniversary of the fall of President Bashar Assad’s regime, but the country’s interim authorities face mounting criticism over continuing abuses and a fragile security environment, the UN human rights chief said.
In a statement on Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said early steps by the interim leadership, including the creation of national commissions for transitional justice and missing persons, and investigative bodies examining violence in coastal areas and in Suweida, were “encouraging but only the beginning” of a long process of accountability.
Trials for suspects linked to last year’s coastal violence have begun, and a draft law on transitional justice has been announced. But Turk said the human rights situation remains deeply troubling.
According to the UN, hundreds of people have been killed over the past year in summary executions, arbitrary killings, and abductions. Victims include members of minority communities and individuals accused of ties to the former government. Deaths were attributed to gunfire, stabbings, blunt-force attacks, shelling, hand grenades and explosive remnants of war.
The UN said perpetrators include security forces under the interim authorities, armed groups aligned with them, remnants of the former government’s forces, local militias, and unidentified armed actors.
Investigators also documented reports of sexual violence, arbitrary detention, looting, destruction of homes, forced evictions, and property confiscations, along with restrictions on free expression and peaceful assembly.
Turk warned that rising hate speech, both online and on the streets, had intensified violence against Alawite, Druze, Christian, and Bedouin communities.
The past year has also seen repeated Israeli military operations inside Syrian territory, including incursions and the occupation of additional areas. The UN said it had received reports of civilian casualties in a recent Israeli strike near Damascus, along with arrests and home searches carried out during military actions.
Turk expressed concern that former armed groups have been integrated into new security forces without adequate human rights checks, raising the risk of repeat violations.
“Proper vetting and comprehensive security sector reform are essential to prevent individuals responsible for serious abuses from entering the security forces,” he said.
He urged Syria’s interim authorities to ensure independent and transparent investigations into all violations, past and present, and to hold those responsible to account.
“Accountability, justice, peace, and the security of all Syrians are absolute prerequisites for a successful transition,” Turk said, adding that victims must have access to remedies and reparation.
The UN Human Rights Office said its Damascus program is supporting efforts to advance inclusive transitional justice and strengthen the rule of law as Syria navigates a post-Assad transition.
