Lebanon issues guidance on airport as border tensions rise

Saturday, 28 October 2023 13:03

By Reuters

The Lebanese authorities on Saturday issued precautionary guidance for evacuating Beirut International Airport and its surrounding facilities in case of emergency, as tensions rise on the Lebanese-Israeli border.

The guidance for Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, which lies on the southern fringe of the capital, did not indicate any immediate escalation on the border.

There have been daily but relatively contained exchanges of fire there recently between Israel and the heavily armed group Hezbollah.

The message comes after Israel's military widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip overnight.

In 2006, the airport's runways were hit by Israeli airstrikes, forcing it to close as part of reprisals following Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers.

More from International News

Britain's Prince William calls for optimism on environment at EarthShot Prize event

Britain's Prince William expressed optimism on Wednesday about tackling global environmental challenges at a star-studded event in Rio de Janeiro for the fifth edition of his EarthShot Prize.
Typhoon Kalmaegi death toll hits 114 in Philippines; heads to Vietnam

The death toll in the Philippines from Typhoon Kalmaegi rose to 114 with another 127 people still missing, the disaster agency said on Thursday, as the storm that devastated the country's central regions regained strength as it headed towards Vietnam.
Investigators find 'black boxes' from UPS plane crash that killed at least 12

US federal safety investigators have located the "black box" recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in flames on takeoff from the airport at Louisville, Kentucky, killing at least 12 people, officials said on Wednesday.
Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayoral race, capping meteoric rise

Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, won the New York City mayoral race on Tuesday, capping a meteoric rise from a little-known state lawmaker to one of the country's most visible Democratic figures, and the first Muslim mayor of the largest US city.