Ben Gurion briefly halts takeoffs as drones downed over sea; rocket lands near Tel Aviv

The Israel Aviation Authority briefly halted and then resumed takeoffs at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Monday evening, amid an apparent escalation in Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and ahead of an expected retaliation for Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month.

The IAA announced a short while after takeoffs were halted that the airport was operating normally, without giving a reason for the pause, and the Israel Defense Forces said that the security incident had been cleared.

In the same statement, the IDF said that helicopters and fighter jets intercepted and shot down five drones over the Mediterranean Sea, before they entered Israeli airspace. (Read More)