German Minister Radovan's trip to Lebanon cancelled as conflict rises

A trip to Lebanon by German Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan was aborted as her flight was on its way to Beirut on Monday due to the conflict there, the Development Ministry said. 

"Based on the ongoing assessment of developments in the acutely escalating situation in Beirut, this decision was taken for military reasons," the ministry said. 

Alabali Radovan wanted to get an impression during her two-day visit of the impact of the war between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel. She was to travel with her Norwegian counterpart, Asmund Grover Aukrust.

Talks had been planned with Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed, who is also responsible for the country's crisis coordination, and Education Minister Rima Karami. The situation of internally displaced people in Lebanon was to have been a key focus.

The conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah Shiite militia in Lebanon has recently escalated dramatically, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz instructing the army to attack "Hezbollah terrorist targets" in Beirut's suburbs, Netanyahu's office said.

Lebanon and Israel agreed to a ceasefire in mid-April but Hezbollah is not part of that agreement and refuses to negotiate with Israel.