FAA Lifts Flight Ban To Airport In Tel Aviv
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The FAA has lifted its ban on US airline flights into and out of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv but missiles and rockets are still engaging in the air over the Tel Aviv area.
The Israeli Defense Force confirms two barrages of rockets came out of Gaza Thursday morning targeting the Tel Aviv area.
In at least on one of those barrages, there were missile intercepts by Israel's Iron Dome defense system, very close to the airport area.
Israeli and planes pummeled the Gaza Strip. More than 700 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in fighting.
Israel has also suffered deaths. 32 Israeli soldiers have been killed.
"We have to try and are doing our best to minimize civilian casualties," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Thursday morning, Netanyahu claimed Hamas militants are using human shields and firing rockets from schools and other civilian areas.
"We cannot give our attackers immunity or impunity, we seek as best as we can to target them," said Netanyahu.
As fighting continues, American airliners can once again fly into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport after the FAA lifted a ban on US planes flying there.
In a statement overnight, the agency said the Israeli government is taking enough steps to ensure the safety of flights.
On its website, the FAA states it "worked with its U.S. government counterparts to assess the security situation in Israel and carefully reviewed both significant new information and measures the Government of Israel is taking to mitigate potential risks to civil aviation."
The ban was put in place Tuesday after this Hamas rocket strike in a neighborhood nearby.
U.S Secretary of State John Kerry flew back to Cairo Wednesday without brokering a ceasefire in the 17 day conflict.
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