Lufthansa, Air France halt Beirut flights as Israel tensions rise

Airlines suspended flights to Lebanon on Monday as diplomatic efforts were underway to contain soaring tensions between Hezbollah and Israel after deadly rocket fire in the annexed Golan Heights.

Several airlines including Lufthansa, Air France and Transavia announced Monday the suspension of their Beirut lines.

German airline group Lufthansa said Monday it had suspend its services to Beirut until August 5 after Israel threatened reprisals for the deadly Majdal Shams strike.

The group's flights to Lebanon were cancelled as a result of "current developments in the Middle East", a Lufthansa spokesman told AFP.

Lebanon's Middle East Airlines had rescheduled a number of flights on Sunday and Monday, citing "technical reasons related to the distribution of (aircraft) insurance risks".

Air France and low-cost carrier Transavia France also suspended their flights between Paris and Beirut due to the "security situation" in Lebanon, a spokesman for the companies said Monday.

But in central Beirut, shop owner Muhammad Saad, 53, said life went on as usual.

"We're already at war, what more could happen?" he told AFP.

Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the Majdal Shams rocket attack, though the group claimed multiple strikes on Israeli military positions that day.

During a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel struck Beirut airport, Lebanon's only international facility.