Israeli Air Force suspends overseas trips for staff amid regional tensions

Jerusalem: The Israeli Air Force has suspended overseas travel for its personnel amid heightened alert over potential retaliatory attacks from Iran and Hezbollah, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Monday.

Air Force Commander Tomer Bar issued "an immediate ban" on vacations abroad for permanent staff in the Air Force following a situational assessment, the IDF said. Bar also noted that official overseas trips, including meetings and training, would be reevaluated.

The IDF added that there has been no change in the Home Front Command's instructions to civilians, Xinhua news agency reported.

This development comes amid heightened regional tensions in the Middle East. Iran and its allies have vowed to retaliate for the killings of Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah senior military commander Fouad Shokor in Beirut, which both occurred in late July.

Israel has claimed responsibility for Shokor's killing but has not commented on Haniyeh's assassination, which Hamas and Iran have blamed on Israel.

In mid-April, Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for an attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria earlier in the month, which killed seven Iranians, including two military commanders. Israel reported intercepting the majority of the missiles and drones.