JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Poland’s national carrier announced Saturday it extended the suspension of all flights to and from Israel until May 18.

LOT joined several international airlines in response to Houthi missile attacks that have targeted the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

Israel’s Channel 12 said LOT indicated it would prolong the suspension following a previous extension that was set to expire May 11.

It noted that the Polish airline’s move aligns with similar decisions by other international carriers, including Germany’s Lufthansa and Italy’s ITA Airways, which extended flight suspensions to May 18 and 19, respectively.

Other airlines that have taken similar steps include Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and the low-cost German carrier Eurowings.

Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air and Spain’s Air Europa also extended suspensions to Tel Aviv until May 18.

Air France extended a suspension until May 13, US-based United Airlines until May 18 and Delta Air Lines until May 20.

Spain’s national carrier, Iberia, has suspended flights to the Ben Gurion Airport until May 31, while British Airways holds the longest extension to June 14.

The disruption follows a major security incident last Sunday when a ballistic missile fired by the Houthi group landed near Israel’s main international airport in Tel Aviv, injuring seven people and causing a temporary suspension of all takeoffs and landings at Ben Gurion Airport, according to Israeli reports.

The Houthis said the strike was in retaliation for Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.

The continued wave of cancellations reflects growing concerns about the security of Israeli airspace, particularly following Israeli-US airstrikes in Yemen that killed at least seven people and injured dozens Monday.

The strikes, which targeted Sanaa, Amran and Al-Hudaydah, caused widespread infrastructure damage and forced the closure of the Sanaa International Airport.

The Houthis have targeted ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where nearly 52,800 victims have been killed in a brutal Israeli assault for more than 19 months, most of them women and children.

The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, but resumed them after Israel's renewed airstrikes on Gaza in March.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.