Lufthansa Group airlines suspend flights due to Middle East security

Airlines belonging to the Lufthansa Group and Air France have suspended flights to Israel for security reasons, the companies announced on Tuesday.

At least nine people were killed and almost 3,000 injured in suspected coordinated explosions of hand-held telecommunications devices across Lebanon on Tuesday evening.

Airlines belonging to the Lufthansa Group had suspended all connections to and from Tel Aviv and Iran's capital Tehran until at least Thursday, the company said.

"During this period, the Israeli and Iranian airspace will also be bypassed by all Lufthansa Group Airlines," a statement said.

"The Lufthansa Group continues to monitor the situation closely and will assess it further in the coming days."

Passengers would be able to rebook for free or get a full refund.

"We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers. The safety of our passengers and crews is always our top priority."

Lufthansa Group airlines include Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings in addition to the German flagship carrier Lufthansa.

Flights to the Lebanese capital of Beirut remain suspended due to the ongoing conflict in the region until at least September 30.

Air France announced that its flights from Paris to Tel Aviv and the Lebanese capital Beirut had also been suspended, the Le Parisien newspaper reported.

A child was among those killed when pagers in several Lebanese regions exploded earlier on Tuesday. Some 200 people are in critical condition.

The Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah blamed Israel for the detonations, threatening retaliation.