Several major airlines have announced decisions to temporarily suspend flights to Israel starting Thursday, according to reports from Hebrew news media.

United Airlines, Delta, and British Airways will reportedly suspend flights to and from Israel on Thursday over fears of possible Iranian and Hezbollah retaliation for the killings of Hezbollah second-in-command Fuad Shukr and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

On Wednesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for a direct strike on Israel in response to Haniyeh's death despite the fact that Israel has not taken responsibility for the strike that killed him.

United Airlines began notifying customers of the cancellations of flights, which is reported to last until Aug. 7. Delta Airlines canceled flights on Wednesday evening, with the suspension expected to last at least 48 hours.

Both airlines canceled flights to and from Israel on Oct. 7, along with most foreign airlines. United resumed flights to Israel in March, before halting them again in April, after the Iranian strike on Israel. It resumed flights to Israel in the beginning of June. Delta Airlines only resumed flying to Israel in June.

On Wednesday, Israel briefly closed airspace in the northern part of the country, due to fears of a response from Hezbollah or Iran, however, the closure had little effect on the country's main airport, Ben Gurion, located near Tel Aviv.

A flight to Tel Aviv by German airline Lufthansa on Thursday morning made a surprise landing in Larnaca, on the island of Cyprus, instead of continuing to Israel.

Initially, the flight crew announced that the plane was landing in Larnaca for "technical reasons," however, after an hour, the airline said the flight would be returning to Munich, Germany due to a decision by the company's security department.

A group of 20 Israeli passengers were allowed to disembark without their luggage, while the remaining passengers chose to return to Munich.

Lufthansa later issued a statement about the unusual decision, claiming that the decision was made for the safety of the passengers and crew.

"Lufthansa flight LH682 from Munich to Tel Aviv, which for operational reasons is currently operated via Larnaca, will return to Munich after landing in Larnaca this morning at 02:43 (CEST), as a precautionary measure due to security activity," the statement read.

After announcing the cancellation of the flight, Lufthansa said that all passengers would be offered alternative flights.

"We are sorry for the inconvenience," the company stated. "The safety of passengers and crew is our top priority."

Israeli airlines, such as El Al, have not announced any flight cancellations. In a statement on the company website, it said, "El Al flights are operating as scheduled at this time. We are in contact with security officials."

Republished with permission from All Israel News