Major airlines from the US, Europe and Canada are refusing to fly to and from Israel after a rocket fired from Gaza landed near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion international airport.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have suspended services between the US and Israel for at least 24 hours, while Germany's Lufthansa and Air France also suspended flights.
Low-fare airline EasyJet is also scrapping its scheduled services for today. The airline said it will "review its operations to and from Israel on a day-by-day basis".
The US flight bans followed advice from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which stopped American flights from travelling to Tel Aviv, citing the "potentially hazardous situation" caused by the ongoing conflict in the region.
However, Secretary of State John Kerry flew into Israel's main airport as he continues to push a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
An Israeli military excavator searches for tunnels on the border with Gaza Israel's military has confirmed two of its soldiers died overnight in further fighting, raising the Israeli death toll to 29 soldiers and two civilians.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has recommended that all European airlines avoid Tel Aviv "until further notice".
Greece's Aegean Airlines and Air Canada have also grounded flights to Tel Aviv.
But a spokeswoman for British Airways said the airline's twice-daily service from London to Tel Aviv would continue.
"We are continuing to operate to Israel as normal," the spokeswoman said.
Israel's Transportation Ministry has urged the airlines to reconsider their decision, insisting that the nation's busiest air hub was secure.
"Ben Gurion Airport is safe and completely guarded and there is no reason whatsoever that American companies would stop their flights and hand terror a prize," it said in a statement.
And former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was planning to fly into Tel Aviv with El Al as the ban was handing "Hamas an undeserved victory".
United Airlines planes seen at Newark International Airport The flight cancellations came as Israel continued its offensive in Gaza, where the death toll has passed 620 people.
Israel launched a major offensive on July 8 in Gaza to stop Hamas militants firing rockets over the border.
Palestinian militants have fired more than 2,000 rockets towards Israel, but many have been intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defence system.
More than 600 Palestinians, many of them women and children, have been killed in the conflict.
Mr Kerry held talks in Egypt before arriving in Israel.
"The Egyptians have provided a framework and a forum for them to be able to come to the table to have a serious discussion together with other factions of the Palestinians," the top US diplomat said.
"Hamas has a fundamental choice to make and it is a choice that will have a profound impact for the people of Gaza."
Today he plans to meet with Israel's prime minister, the Palestinian Authority's president and the United Nations chief in a day-long visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah.
The Palestinian leadership says it has proposed a ceasefire plan to mediators aimed at halting the violence.
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