All 3 runways were bombed by Israeli forces a few hours ago (I should know as my house is not far from the airport).
Apparently the airport was used by Hizbollah to bring in weapons, something that the Israelis knew but obviously we had no idea about it. Yeah right!!!
Not sure how long the closure will be for as there is no word yet on the extent of the damage. Flights are being diverted to Cyprus.
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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Beirut international airport will reopen on Thursday for commercial flights for the first time in five weeks, four days after a U.N.-backed truce halted the war between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas, airport sources said.
The resumption of commercial flights will effectively end an Israeli air blockade of Lebanon. A naval blockade remains in force.
A plane belonging to Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's flag carrier, will land with civilian passengers at around 1 p.m. (11 a.m. British time) from Jordan's capital Amman. It will be followed by a Royal Jordanian flight, the sources said. ^ ^
More of the article here:
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060817/3/2om65.html