Easyjet suspends flights to Israel until October

The airline cited "the continued evolving situation in Israel". It had only recently resumed flying to Tel Aviv following Hamas' assault on Israel last October, sparking a fierce retaliation from the Israel Defence Force which has seen thousands of Palestinian civilians die on the Gaza Strip.

"Customers booked to fly on this route up this date are being offered options including a full refund," easyJet said in a statement.

Iran carried out the strike – which was its first-ever direct attack against Israel – after vowing retaliation for the bombing of its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Tensions in the Middle East were high after Israel said it had no choice but to respond to Iran's 300-plus missiles and drones that were launched at the weekend. The initial muted reaction to Tehran's attack had a similarly subdued impact on the markets on Monday, though fears are now rising of a reprisal.

"Missiles into the territory of the State of Israel will be met with a response," said Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the IDF.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com