Smoke from a nearby strike lingered as a plane operated by Middle East Airlines took off, underscoring the airport’s continued operations during the latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

The airport, Lebanon’s only international passenger hub, sits on the Mediterranean coast adjacent to Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area heavily targeted by Israeli strikes since Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel last month, drawing the country into the broader regional conflict.

Mohammed Aziz, head of Lebanon’s civil aviation authority, said the airport has remained operational throughout the crisis, based on risk assessments informed largely by the U.S. embassy.

He added that authorities received assurances this week that the airport itself would not be targeted, following an Israeli evacuation warning covering areas near the facility.

Israel has not carried out that threat, which followed a wave of strikes that killed more than 350 people across Lebanon, including in central Beirut and its southern outskirts.

Passenger traffic has dropped to less than half of normal levels, with most international airlines suspending service. Middle East Airlines has maintained a reduced schedule, including a limited number of daily flights to Turkey.At the airport, usually crowded departure halls were sparsely populated, with only a handful of travelers waiting amid heightened security.

Some passengers said their main concern was potential cancellations rather than safety risks.A pilot with the national carrier said commercial flights continue to operate alongside Israeli military aircraft by using designated air corridors. “We have very specific air routes,” he said, adding that aircraft positions are visible through active transponders, reducing the risk of accidental conflict.

He said Israeli military aircraft typically operate at higher altitudes and are detectable on radar systems used by civilian planes.Coordination mechanisms are in place to prevent incidents, with U.S. officials acting as intermediaries, according to aviation sources.

Lebanese authorities are also sharing flight movement data with certain diplomatic missions, a Western source said.Airport chief operating officer Jalal Haidar said he was confident in the safety of the facility, surrounding areas and airspace, adding that operations have continued with minimal disruption, aside from occasional landing delays.

He said the airport is using the reduced traffic to carry out renovations, aiming to expand capacity beyond its annual average of eight million passengers.“We are prepared to remain open and operational,” Haidar said, adding that maintaining connectivity is critical for Lebanon during the conflict.

The injured personnel were part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which said the blast occurred near El Adeisse and that the injured were taken to hospital, with two reported in serious condition.

The United Nations Information Centre confirmed the nationalities of the wounded, adding that the cause of the explosion remained unknown.The incident follows a series of deadly events involving Indonesian peacekeepers in recent days.

One was killed on March 29 when a projectile exploded in southern Lebanon, with a UN security source attributing the blast to Israeli tank fire. Two others died a day later after an explosion struck a UNIFIL logistics convoy in the same region.

The bodies of the three killed peacekeepers are expected to arrive in Jakarta on Saturday, according to Indonesian military officials.

UNIFIL said the recent underscore the dangers faced by peacekeepers operating in areas affected by hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, which have intensified since Lebanon became involved in the wider regional conflict in early March.

The mission reiterated calls for all parties to respect their obligations under international law to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel, including by avoiding military activity near peacekeeping positions.

“This has been a difficult week for peacekeepers working near the central part of UNIFIL’s area of operations,” the mission said in a statement.

The official said the prosecutor will examine the file, issue a legal opinion and return it to Bitar, who will then draft an indictment outlining charges and individual responsibilities for approximately 70 defendants, including politicians, security personnel and civil servants.

The investigation had faced repeated disruptions since 2023, when Hezbollah and its allies mounted a campaign to remove Bitar, accompanied by a series of legal challenges that effectively paralysed proceedings.

The inquiry resumed last year following shifts in Lebanon’s political landscape after the 2023–2024 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which weakened the Iran-backed group’s influence, according to the judicial official.

Bitar is expected to decide on the legal status of about 20 individuals who appeared before him for questioning since early 2025, including whether to detain, release or conditionally free them.

Decisions regarding the remaining roughly 50 suspects among them senior officials and judges who declined to appear have already been made, the official said.No suspects are currently in custody in connection with the case.

Lebanese authorities have attributed the August 4, 2020 explosion, which killed more than 220 people and devastated large parts of the capital, to a fire that ignited a stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely for years at the port despite repeated warnings to senior officials.

The case has become a focal point of demands for accountability in Lebanon, where critics have long accused political elites of obstructing judicial processes in high-profile cases involving state institutions.

A defense ministry official, cited by state news agency SANA, said the tunnel was located near the village of Hosh Al-Sayyid Ali, west of Homs, and had been used by what the statement described as “Lebanese militias.”

The military has since sealed the passage.The closure comes as Syrian and Lebanese authorities step up efforts to curb smuggling across their porous border, particularly in mountainous regions that have long facilitated illicit trade and movement of goods and fighters.

Eastern Lebanon, adjacent to the Syrian border, is a stronghold of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group currently engaged in hostilities with Israel.shifting regional dynamicsHezbollah had played a key role in supporting former Syrian president Bashar Assad during Syria’s civil conflict.

Following his overthrow in December 2024 by an Islamist coalition opposed to the group, key supply routes between Syria and Lebanon have been disrupted.

Authorities on both sides of the border have since moved to dismantle smuggling networks, reflecting broader shifts in regional alliances and security priorities.

No further details were provided on the scale of the tunnel or whether arrests were made in connection with its use.