The on-going violence between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza pushed more international airlines and entertainers to cancel their flights to Israel on Wednesday.

Air Canada, Air Alitalia, Austrian, Air France, Brussels, Delta, KLM, Germanwings; Norwegian, KLM, LOT, Royal Jordanian, Swiss, Scandinavian, United, and US Airways are among the airlines that cancelled their Israel flights amid the Israel-Gaza violence. Cirque du Soleil cancelled an August tour due to uncertainties about the safety of the performers and the audience, The Globe and Mail detailed.

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The U.S. issued a mandatory ban on flights to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. Many flights are already half-empty after the battle between Israeli forces and Hamas militants that left hundreds dead and thousands injured.

The Obama administrations flight ban on Tuesday enraged Israel, but the Federal Aviation Administration lifted the ban on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration attempted to deem the ban unnecessary, saying Ben Gurion was very secure in spite of its close proximity to the range of rockets coming from the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri issued a statement claiming victory in shutting down Israeli airspace. However, Israeli state-run airline El Al continued its flights even though it was forced to move hundreds of passengers from an aircraft when sirens signaled incoming missiles.

Most international airlines simply opted not to take the risk of flying to Israel regardless of the mandatory ban. The recent shoot down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, which killed all the 298 people it carried, heightened the level of caution among airlines.

On Wednesday, Israel's warplanes continued to attack the Gaza Strip where almost 700 Palestinians died from air strikes. Hamas offensives, on the other hand, killed 32 Israeli soldiers, two Israeli civilians, and one Thai worker within six days.

Currently, only one runway at the Ben Gurion airport is operational. To encourage other airlines to resume their flights, Israel announced the opening of the Ovda military air base in the Negev desert as an alternative but it unfortunately cannot accommodate commercial jets.

Despite the mandatory flight ban on U.S. commercial planes, one aircraft pushed through with its flight to Ben Gurion. U.S. State Secretary John Kerry boarded the government's Boeing 757, which is technically exempted from the ban, and flew into Tel Aviv in a bid to negotiate a ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.

TagsFlight ban, Israel-Gaza crisis, Cancelled flights, Ben Gurion International Airport