SWISS cancels flights to Beirut after deadly airstrike
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has cancelled flights to and from Beirut on Wednesday due to the security situation in the Lebanese capital.
The airline is working to find alternative solutions for passengers affected, according to a statement published on Tuesday evening. Its next flights to and from Beirut are scheduled for Saturday, January 6. Further flights are planned until January 13, after which SWISS will not operate the route during the winter months (until March 22).
SWISS is continuing to monitor the security situation in the Middle East and is in close contact with local and international authorities, the statement added.
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On Tuesday, Saleh al-Arouri, deputy chairman of the Palestinian organisation Hamas, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut. Al-Arouri is considered a co-founder of the military arm of Hamas, which immediately blamed Israel for the airstrike.
Swiss flights to Beirut were also suspended after the terror attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, and only resumed on December 16.
On October 7, Hamas fighters entered Israel from the Gaza Strip and killed, raped and abducted around 1,200 Jewish civilians at dawn. Since then, the Israeli army has been fighting in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to free Israeli hostages and destroy Hamas. According to the latter, over 20,000 civilians, most of them Palestinian, have lost their lives.
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