The travel industry is grappling with the impact of the conflict
between Israel and Hamas militants that has left more than 700 Israelis
dead, with 260 bodies recovered from a music festival in southern Israel
that was attacked by Hamas.
Airlines have cancelled services to Israel while travel agents have
been checking on their clients who are travelling in the region.
American Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates are among those
pulling flights to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, while Israeli flag
carrier El Al said Sunday that it was maintaining its Tel Aviv flights
“for now”.
Israel is a popular destination for travellers, and it is not clear
how many foreign tourists were in in Israel at the time of the surprise
Hamas attacks.
Chinese travel agency Spring Tour said it has cancelled a 28-member
tour to Israel that was scheduled to depart on Monday, while in
Australia Intrepid Travel confirmed it had a small number of travellers
in Israel when violence broke out on Saturday.
All travellers and tour leaders were safely accounted for, Intrepid said.
“Travellers initially stayed at their hotels with their tour leaders and most have now left the country,” the company added.
Intrepid has cancelled all trips to Israel departing up until 16 October. All customers affected are being contacted.
Zina Bencheikh, managing director EMEA for Intrepid Travel, said,
“Our thoughts are with the people of Israel and the Palestinian
Territories at this awful time, and we send our condolences to all those
who have lost loved ones.”