Carriers across Europe, North America and Asia reported widespread suspensions, with routes to key destinations such as Tel Aviv, Beirut and Gulf cities either halted or significantly curtailed.

Greece’s Aegean Airlines said it had cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Amman until April 22, and to Erbil and Baghdad until May 24, while suspending Dubai routes until April 19 and Riyadh until April 18.

Latvia’s airBaltic halted Tel Aviv services until April 5 and Dubai flights until October 24.

Air Canada suspended Tel Aviv flights until May 2 and Dubai routes until March 28, while Spain’s Air Europa cancelled Tel Aviv operations until April 10.

Air France said it had cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until March 21 and to Dubai and Riyadh until March 20. KLM suspended services to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until March 28 and paused Tel Aviv flights for the rest of its winter season.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific said all passenger and cargo flights to Dubai and Riyadh would remain cancelled until April 30, reflecting continued uncertainty in regional airspace.

U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines said flights between New York and Tel Aviv were cancelled through the end of March, with further suspensions extending into August for some routes.Israel’s El Al said regular flights were cancelled until March 21.

Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways said they were operating reduced and limited schedules respectively following a partial reopening of regional airspace.

Finnair said it had cancelled Dubai flights until March 29 and Doha flights until April 2, continuing to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel.

A loud explosion was heard in the area shortly after residents were warned to leave, according to the witness. The strike formed part of a broader wave of Israeli attacks across Lebanon, including additional raids on the Lebanese capital as well as southern and eastern regions.

Lebanon’s health ministry said earlier strikes on Beirut killed at least six people and wounded 24 others. Separate airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon killed at least 14 people, the state news agency reported, citing the ministry.

The Israeli military said it had begun targeting Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, indicating a widening scope of operations beyond isolated strikes. Wednesday’s attacks suggest a sustained escalation, with multiple regions coming under fire within a single day.

The latest strikes add to a growing toll from the conflict. More than 800 people have been killed in Lebanon since the escalation began, while over 800,000 have been displaced from their homes, according to available figures.

The escalation follows Hezbollah’s March 2 attack on Israel, which the group said was carried out in response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader. Israel has since launched an expanded offensive, drawing Lebanon deeper into a broader Middle East conflict.

Humanitarian organization Norwegian Refugee Council said the number of displaced people now represents roughly one in seven residents of Lebanon. The government has so far been able to accommodate only about 120,000 people in shelters as authorities scramble to open additional facilities and bring in emergency supplies.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said more than 700 people, including 103 children, have been killed since the fighting escalated.

Thousands of families fleeing Israeli evacuation orders have struggled to find accommodation, forcing many to sleep in tents, vehicles or on the streets of the capital Beirut.

Fatima Nazha, a wheelchair user who fled Beirut’s southern suburbs after evacuation warnings, said she spent two days sleeping outdoors with her family before moving into a tent at the country’s largest stadium after schools designated as shelters reached capacity.

Authorities have converted the stadium into a temporary shelter housing more than 800 displaced people in semi-open corridors beneath the stands. Facilities include basic toilets and sinks but limited electricity and no showers.

Humanitarian agencies say years of financial strain and underfunding have limited their ability to respond to the rapidly escalating crisis.

“The needs are escalating much faster than our capacity to respond,” said Mathieu Luciano, head of the International Organization for Migration in Lebanon, during a recent briefing.

Displaced residents have reported rising rents and stricter hotel screening in Beirut after Israeli strikes targeted locations where authorities said members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were present.

An overnight Israeli strike in the Ramlet el-Bayda district of Beirut killed at least eight people and wounded more than 30, according to local officials, in an area where displaced families had been camping along the seafront.

The latest wave of displacement began after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the start of the wider regional war.

Israel subsequently intensified air strikes across Lebanon and issued evacuation notices for dozens of villages south of the Litani River, later expanding warnings to residents of Dahiyeh, a densely populated area on Beirut’s southern edge.

Traffic congestion stretched for miles on major highways leading north from southern Lebanon as residents attempted to flee bombardment.

Along the border, some villages remained briefly populated as residents weighed whether to evacuate, but many ultimately fled after continued strikes and drone activity near the United Nations-monitored Blue Line separating the two countries.

The Israeli military said it struck the Zrarieh Bridge spanning the Litani River early on Friday, asserting that the crossing was being used by Hezbollah fighters to move between northern and southern parts of Lebanon.

The military did not provide evidence for the claim.The strike appeared to be the first instance in the current conflict in which Israel publicly acknowledged targeting civilian infrastructure in Lebanon.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Lebanon would face increasing consequences unless Hezbollah was disarmed.

“The Lebanese government will pay increasing costs through damage to infrastructure and loss of territory,” Katz told senior military officers during a briefing, according to a statement from his office.

Israeli troops have been pushing deeper into southern Lebanon as part of the military campaign, while air strikes have continued to hit districts in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Lebanese officials say the expanding conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

Lebanon’s interior minister said authorities were struggling to accommodate the influx of civilians seeking refuge in Beirut, where many displaced residents have gathered after fleeing combat zones in the south.

The minister said government resources were insufficient to manage the scale of displacement, with large numbers of people arriving in the capital in recent days.

Lebanese authorities estimate that around 800,000 people have been forced from their homes since the fighting intensified.

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, said the Lebanese population had been drawn into a broader regional conflict.

Speaking about the humanitarian impact of the fighting, Guterres said the Lebanese people had been “dragged into” the war as hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah expanded.

The escalation in Lebanon is unfolding as the wider regional conflict continues to intensify, raising concerns among international officials about the growing humanitarian and security consequences across the Middle East.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military did not immediately comment when asked about the Hezbollah statement.

Hezbollah said the clash occurred after Israeli forces conducted an airborne operation in eastern Lebanon, an area where the group maintains a presence. The statement did not provide further details on the scale of the raid or whether there were casualties.

The reported raid comes amid intensifying hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which have exchanged attacks since the conflict escalated last week. The war marks one of the most serious confrontations between Israel and the Lebanese armed group in years.

Israeli officials have said the military campaign is aimed at weakening Hezbollah’s operational and financial capabilities.

Separately, the Israeli military said it planned to strike a financial body associated with Hezbollah, according to a statement, underscoring Israel’s effort to disrupt the group’s funding channels as the fighting continues.

Hezbollah, backed by Iran and one of the most heavily armed non-state groups in the Middle East, has long maintained military infrastructure across parts of Lebanon, including areas close to the Israeli border.

The warning from Hezbollah came early on Friday and appeared aimed at residents of Israeli communities close to the frontier. The group said Israel’s military actions against Lebanon, including what it described as attacks on civilian infrastructure and the displacement of residents, would not go unanswered.The exchange of warnings reflects a sharp escalation in rhetoric and military posture between the two sides as hostilities expand across the Israel-Lebanon frontier.

Hezbollah issues evacuation warningIn its Telegram statement, Hezbollah accused Israel of violating Lebanese sovereignty and targeting civilian areas, saying Israeli military operations and the displacement of residents had crossed a threshold.“Your military’s aggression against Lebanese sovereignty and safe citizens, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the expulsion campaign it is carrying out will not go unchallenged,” the group said in the message directed at Israeli residents near the border.

The warning was issued in Hebrew, a move often used by Hezbollah to communicate directly with Israeli audiences during periods of heightened confrontation.Israel rejects evacuation demandIsraeli authorities said they would not comply with Hezbollah’s demand and indicated that residents of border towns would remain in place despite the warning.Israel has also deployed additional troops into Lebanon, describing the move as a defensive measure aimed at protecting Israeli communities near the frontier.Israeli officials have repeatedly said the military steps are intended to safeguard citizens living close to the border as tensions with Hezbollah intensify.Beirut suburbs already under warningHezbollah’s evacuation notice followed a separate warning from Israel issued less than a day earlier, when Israeli authorities urged civilians to leave the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The advisory prompted residents to flee parts of the capital known as Dahiyeh, an area widely regarded as a stronghold of Hezbollah.Witnesses and local reports described an exodus from sections of the neighbourhood following the Israeli warning, as civilians sought safer areas away from potential military targets.The back-to-back warnings from both sides illustrate the rapidly deteriorating security situation along the Lebanon-Israel border, where rhetoric and military positioning have sharpened in recent days.Israel and Hezbollah have a long history of confrontation along the frontier, and exchanges of threats and military movements often raise fears of broader escalation. The latest warnings to civilians on both sides underscore the growing strain on border communities as tensions continue to mount.