Beirut, Aug 2 (IANS): Around 90 per cent of reservations to Lebanon by expatriates were cancelled amid rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese tourist syndicate head said Friday.

"The tourism sector received a heavy blow due to the escalation of tensions and the possibility of a comprehensive war between Hezbollah and Israel," Pierre Ashkar, head of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners in Lebanon, was quoted as saying by the Lebanese National News Agency.

Figures recorded at the end of July showed a 40 per cent drop in demand in the restaurant sector and a 60 per cent drop in the hotel sector, Ashkar said, adding that the decline could be "catastrophic," especially in terms of its impact on the labour market and the overall national economy.

The hotel sector could witness many closures and layoffs after summer, Ashkar predicted, noting that "Lebanon has been in a state of emergency for nine months, and the hotels and the tourism sector are trying to survive and continue until the war ends to return Lebanon to the regional and international tourism map."

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

Confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel rose recently after the latter accused Hezbollah of attacking a football pitch in the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights, killing 12 youngsters.

While Hezbollah denied any involvement in the Majdal Shams attack, Israel retaliated by launching three missiles on Tuesday evening near the Shura Council of Hezbollah in Dahieh in Beirut's southern suburbs, killing Fouad Shokor, Hezbollah's top military commander, and seven civilians.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah threatened a definite and painful response to the Israeli attack at the appropriate time and place.