Air India suspends Tel Aviv flights till November 30 amid continuing tensions between Israel, Gaza
Air India has suspended its scheduled flights to Tel Aviv till November 30 amid the tensions between Israel and Hamas militant group in Gaza. Since October 7, the day Hamas militants stormed into Israeli territory and killed hundreds, Air India has not operated a scheduled flight to and from Tel Aviv, reported PTI. ‘Flights to Tel Aviv have been suspended till November 30,’ said an airline spokesperson on November 5.
In the normal course, the full-service carrier operates five weekly flights from the national capital to Tel Aviv. The airline offers service on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Under the Indian government's Operation Ajay, Air India operated a few chartered flights from the national capital to Tel Aviv last month to bring back Indians who wished to come back from Israel against the backdrop of the escalating conflict.
Hundreds of Hamas gunmen stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killed over 1,400 people and took more than 240 hostage. Israel has launched an intense air and ground offensive in Gaza since the initial Hamas attack, killing over 9,000 people according to health authorities in the Hamas-run area. Large areas of the Gaza enclave have turned to rubble.
Thousands of protestors demonstrated in Tel Aviv, waved flags and held photographs of some of the captives in Gaza on November 4. Public fury and anger are growing among the citizens of Israel who are calling for their relatives, taken captives by Hamas, to be brought home. On Saturday, protesters gathered in large numbers outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence.
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