Several flights to and from Beirut were cancelled on Monday after Israel announced it was preparing to resume strikes on the Lebanese capital, prompting fresh concerns about regional security and travel disruption.The cancellations came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to strike targets in Beirut’s southern suburb Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold.The warning marks the latest escalation in a conflict that has continued despite a ceasefire agreed upon in April. The fighting in Lebanon has become the most significant spillover from the wider Iran war. More than 1.2 million people have been displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders since March 2. On Monday, photos showed thousands of people fleeing Dahiyeh in response to the Israeli warning. According to the Lebanese government, more than 3,370 people have been killed during the conflict. It was not immediately clear whether the flight cancellations were directly linked to the latest escalation.Data from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport shows a slew of cancellations, the majority involving Lebanon's national carrier, Middle East Airlines.Cancelled departures included Middle East Airlines ME320 and ME332 bound for Baghdad, ME223 to Nice, ME312 to Amman, ME203 to London, ME430 to Dubai and ME434 to Doha.Other cancelled departures include Emirates EK954 to Dubai, flydubai FZ160 to Dubai, Air Arabia's G9386 to Sharjah, Lufthansa's LH1307 to Frankfurt, UM Air's UF004 to Sharm Al Sheikh and Pegasus Airlines' PC1825 to Antalya. Affected arrivals at Rafic Hariri airport include Middle East Airlines flights ME405 from Kuwait, ME226 from Copenhagen, ME313 from Amman and ME323 from Baghdad. The Iran war has taken a heavy toll on the Middle East's aviation sector. Global air passenger demand fell 3.4 per cent in April as a sharp decline in traffic linked to the regional conflict outweighed growth elsewhere, according to a report released last week by the International Air Transport Association.The industry body said demand for Middle East airlines plunged 46.6 per cent during the month, making it the worst-performing region globally and dragging overall passenger traffic into negative territory.