BA suspends ALL flights to and from Israel over safety fears as Hamas fires rockets towards airport
BRITISH Airways has suspended ALL flights to and from Israel after one of its planes was forced to turn back.
The airline said the decision had been made due to safety concerns soon after Hamas rockets appeared to be targeting Tel Aviv airport.
In a statement British Airways said: "Safety is always our highest priority and following the latest assessment of the situation we're suspending our flights to and from Tel Aviv.
"We're contacting customers booked to travel to or from Tel Aviv to apologise for the inconvenience... We continue to monitor the situation in the region closely."
Virgin Atlantic has also decided to cancel all flights to and from Tel Aviv for the next 72 hours.
The company said: "Based on the latest information, we have taken the decision to pause flying to and from Tel Aviv for the next 72 hours.
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"The safety and security of our customers and our people are our number one priority and our flying programme to Israel remains under constant review.
"We would advise anyone booked to travel to check their flight status on the website before travelling to the airport."
Only an hour before, BA announced that it had diverted a flight from London to Tel Aviv back to the UK due to security concerns in Israel.
However, Israel's airports authority said there was no security threat at the airport at the time and instead stated it was the pilot's decision to turn back.
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But there were rockets heard near Tel Aviv at the time of the diversion - with footage showing passengers at the Israeli airport running for cover.
Flight BA165 left London Heathrow this morning and was due to arrive in Tel Aviv at 3.05pm.
Other carriers such easyJet and Wizz Air suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv after the Hamas attacks on Saturday.
Virgin Atlantic is continuing to operate flights between Heathrow and Tel Aviv.
It comes as British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was forced to run for cover as Hamas launched their latest barrage of rockets at Israel.
Footage shows a group of people, including the UK MP, running into a building as air sirens blared in Ofakim.
Hamas said it is targeting southern and central Israeli cities, including Aviv, Ashdod and Ashkelon with "heavy rocket fire" as Israel continues to pound the Gaza Strip with airstrikes.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said it had fired a rocket at Ben Gurion airport, where Israeli officials reported no hit.
The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, have been killed in Israel since Hamas terrorists stormed across the border and killed hundreds in a bloody massacre.
In Gaza, the health ministry says more than 1,050 have been killed and over 5,100 injured.
The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency says 250,000 people have been displaced in Gaza, which is now plunging into darkness as it's only power plant has run out of fuel.
The blackout comes after Israel vowed to raze Gaza to the ground as it launched more than 200 airstrikes overnight.
On Monday, Israel halted fuel, food and medicine entering the blockaded territory in revenge for Hamas launched their surprise assault.
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It comes as...
- Israeli troops are massing on the border with Gaza ready to 'execute' as 300,000 ready for a ground invasion
- Horrific details continue to emerge after Hamas terrorists' mass slaughter of Israeli civilians over the weekend
- Babies and young children were reportedly slain, with some beheaded, in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza
- 1,200 people have been killed in Israel - while the death toll in Gaza hit 1,055
- Some 17 Brits are feared to be either dead or missing across Israel and Gaza
- Strikes on Gaza continue - with reports of rockets also being fired into Israel from Lebanon and Syria
- A Lebanese terror group has begun bombarding northern Israel - with reports of drones and paragliders
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu dubbed Hamas 'worse than ISIS' in a phone call with US President Joe Biden
- Families are still desperately waiting for news on hostages captured by Hamas - including tattoo artist Shani Louk
- Netanyahu has formed an emergency government with opposition leader
