'Tel Aviv' written on Ethiopian plane causes upset in Lebanon

Incident at Beirut airport comes as Israel and Lebanon are technically in a state of war

Ethiopian Airlines says new planes are painted with the name of their first destination after joining its fleet. Reuters

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An Ethiopian Airlines flight landed in Beirut on Thursday with the name of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv emblazoned on its fuselage, prompting a rebuke from Lebanese authorities.

Lebanon is technically in a state of war with neighbouring Israel.

Lebanon's directorate for civil aviation said the words Tel Aviv were in small letters and that the airline explained its practice was to mark new planes with the name of their first destination after entering service.

The Civil Aviation Authority asked the airline to remove the city's name from its fuselage before departing Beirut.

"The company was also asked to take necessary measures to ensure that there is no logo related to the Israeli enemy entity on the company's aircraft before landing at Rafic Hariri International Airport," the authority added.

Lebanon has never had diplomatic relations with Israel and regards it as an enemy state. Lebanese citizens are forbidden from contact with Israelis.

The current situation is particularly tense, with Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah having been engaged in daily cross-border attacks in south Lebanon since October 8.

Hezbollah, also a political group, says it is carrying out the attacks in support of its embattled Palestinian ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah said on Tuesday it had launched drone attacks on two Israeli military bases north of the city of Acre, its deepest attack into Israel since hostilities broke out.

In response Israel killed two civilians – a woman and her niece – and injured six others in a strike that destroyed a house in the southern Lebanese village of Hanine, Lebanon's state news agency said.