German airline Lufthansa suspended its flights to and from the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday until October 16 as tensions soar in the region while the Israel-Gaza war rages. The spokesman, who blamed the decision on the “current situation in the Middle East”, confirmed information from two passengers who had been unable to fly from Frankfurt to Beirut. On Saturday Lufthansa cut its flights to Tel Aviv, citing “the current security situation”. The route will remain suspended until October 22, according to the spokesman on Friday. Evacuation flights for German nationals in Israel were organised on Thursday and Friday by the German government. The German foreign ministry said that around 950 nationals were evacuated on Thursday and more than 850 left Israel on Friday. These flights were chartered by Lufthansa at the request of the foreign ministry, and flew from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt and Munich. Other airlines to have cut flights to Tel Aviv amid safety concerns include Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Air France-KLM and US airline Delta. Before the flights were halted, British Airways turned around one of its flights from London’s Heathrow Airport to Tel Aviv in mid-air, citing fears over the security situation in the region.