A tourist wearing a face mask walks at the Amman Citadel, during a sandstorm in downtown Amman, Jordan, September 8, 2015. A heavy sandstorm swept across parts of the Middle East on Tuesday, hospitalising scores of people in Lebanon and disrupting air strikes and fighting in neighbouring Syria. Clouds of dust also engulfed Israel, Jordan and Cyprus where aircraft were diverted to Paphos from Larnaca airport as visibility fell to 500 metres. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
A cyclist rides with a covered face during a sandstorm in Jerusalem September 8, 2015. A heavy sandstorm swept across parts of the Middle East on Tuesday, killing two people and hospitalising hundreds in Lebanon and disrupting fighting and air strikes in neighbouring Syria.Clouds of dust also engulfed Israel, Jordan and Cyprus where aircraft were diverted to Paphos from Larnaca airport as visibility fell to 500 metres. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A heavy sandstorm swept across parts of the Middle East on Tuesday, killing two people and hospitalizing hundreds in Lebanon and disrupting fighting and air strikes in neighbouring Syria.
Clouds of dust also engulfed Israel, Jordan and Cyprus where aircraft were diverted to Paphos from Larnaca airport as visibility fell to 500 metres.
There were fewer air strikes in Syria on Monday as the storm engulfed the sky, said Rami Abdulrahman from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.
“We have had sandstorms before, but not of this intensity. It’s very rare for this time of year too and it’s covering the entire region,” a Cypriot metrological office official said.
Palestinian workers remove the debris of a house, that witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war in 2014 summer, during a sandstorm in Gaza September 8, 2015. A heavy sandstorm swept across parts of the Middle East on Tuesday, killing two people and hospitalising hundreds in Lebanon and disrupting fighting and air strikes in neighbouring Syria. Clouds of dust also engulfed Israel, Jordan and Cyprus where aircraft were diverted to Paphos from Larnaca airport as visibility fell to 500 metres. REUTERS/Suhaib SalemA general view shows the public beach on Ramlet al Bayda seaside during a sandstorm in Beirut, Lebanon September 8, 2015. A heavy sandstorm swept across parts of the Middle East on Tuesday, hospitalising scores of people in Lebanon and disrupting air strikes and fighting in neighbouring Syria. Clouds of dust also engulfed Israel, Jordan and Cyprus where aircraft were diverted to Paphos from Larnaca airport as visibility fell to 500 metres. REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirA tourist wearing a face mask walks at the Amman Citadel, during a sandstorm in downtown Amman, Jordan, September 8, 2015. A heavy sandstorm swept across parts of the Middle East on Tuesday, hospitalising scores of people in Lebanon and disrupting air strikes and fighting in neighbouring Syria. Clouds of dust also engulfed Israel, Jordan and Cyprus where aircraft were diverted to Paphos from Larnaca airport as visibility fell to 500 metres. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
