Gulf airlines including Emirates and Qatar Airways temporarily suspended flights to Beirut on Tuesday as tensions soared between Israel and Hezbollah after the deadliest bombardment of Lebanon since 2006.

Etihad Airways and flydubai also joined a number of international carriers in suspending Beirut services, as Israeli strikes continued a day after 558 people were killed in Lebanon, according to Lebanese officials.

“The safety of our crew and customers is of utmost importance and will not be compromised,” Emirates said in a statement, announcing the suspension of flights on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Qatar Airways, the national flag carrier which operates two flights a day to the Lebanese capital, also cancelled services for two days.

“Due to the ongoing situation in Lebanon, Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended flights to and from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport until September 25,” it said in a statement.

Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates national airline, cancelled its return flight from Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, it said in a statement sent to AFP.

And flydubai, Emirates’ low-cost sister airline, cancelled its daily flights on Tuesday and Wednesday “due to the ongoing developments”, a spokesperson said.

The cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah began last October after Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups launched an unprecedented attack on Israel.

Germany’s Lufthansa, Air France and Delta Air Lines of the United States have also suspended flights to Beirut, with some carriers’ services to Israel and Iran also affected.

On Tuesday, Air France extended its suspension to October 1. Lufthansa, which had suspended Beirut flights until October 26, cancelled services to Tel Aviv and Tehran until October 14.

A source at Lebanese flag carrier Middle East Airlines told AFP its flights were booked out for days.

“Our flights are all overbooked because of the cancellations of other airlines,” the source, who is not authorised to speak to media, said on condition of anonymity.

“There is not a single seat available for any destination before Sunday.”

Last week, Qatar Airways announced a ban on pagers and walkie-talkies on its Beirut flights after communications device explosions, blamed on Israel, killed 37 people and wounded thousands over two days.