Frankfurt (dpa) – German flagship carrier Lufthansa has extended its flight stops to Israel and Lebanon for several more weeks given the unstable situation in the Middle East.
Concerns are growing about an expansion of the war between Hamas and Israel, unleashed after more than 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians, were killed in brutal attacks by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement on October 7.
Hamas is also holding hundreds of people hostage, according to the Israeli government.
In retaliation, Israel has been bombarding Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, in what is seen as preparation for a planned ground offensive.
In total 7,028 Palestinians have been killed since the start of this conflict, 66% of them women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza.
As fears run high that the war could lead to a broader regional conflict, Western governments are bringing citizens out of Israel, with Lufthansa helping the Berlin government evacuate German nationals on several special flights.
Lufthansa and its subsidiaries have suspended all its regular scheduled flights to and from Tel Aviv up to and including November 30, the company said, after its crisis management team met in Frankfurt on Friday.
There will be no flights to Beirut up to and including November 14, Lufthansa said, adding it is closely monitoring the situation and is in close contact with the authorities.
Despite Berlin’s efforts to evacuate people, several thousand Germans are still in the Middle East, the Foreign Office said on Friday.
READ ALSO: Germany deploys over 1,000 soldiers to the Middle East as precaution
Some 2,700 Germans are still in Israel. Almost 1,100 Germans are still in Lebanon, despite Berlin urging nationals to leave the country.
A “low three-digit” number of Germans are in Gaza, the ministry said. In all, around 490 Germans are in the Palestinian Territories, according to estimates. These estimates only include German citizens who have voluntarily registered on the ministry crisis precaution list.
