British Airways (BA) has suspended flights to Tel Aviv in Israel after Hamas said it attacked the airport there.

A BA flight was en route to the airport when the captain made the decision to divert back to Heathrow.

A spokesperson for Israel's airports authority said rockets were flying around Tel Aviv at the time but were not an immediate threat to the flight or to the Ben Gurion Airport.

Hamas's armed military wing said a missile had struck the airport, Sky News reports.

Al Qassam Brigades said it had "bombarded" the site in response to civilians being targeted by Israel.

British Airways release statement regarding Tel Aviv flights

British Airways had been among only a handful of global airlines to continue flights to and from Tel Aviv since Saturday's attack on Israel by Hamas.

The airline released a statement regarding the situation, saying: "Following the latest assessment of the situation we're suspending our flights to and from Tel Aviv.

"We're contacting customers booked to travel to or from Tel Aviv to apologise for the inconvenience and offer options including a full refund and rebooking with another airline or with British Airways at a later date.

"We continue to monitor the situation in the region closely."

Other airlines, including Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz halted services to Tel Aviv earlier in the week.

Virgin Atlantic was yet to make a decision on whether all its flights to the city would now be suspended.