Lebanese airline Middle East Airlines (MEA) denied Sunday afternoon rumors that one of its planes had disappeared from radar mid-flight. "The company denies this baseless rumor," the airline said in a statement.

The rumor, which claimed that a national airline plane had vanished from radar over Cyprus, began circulating on instant messaging apps amid heightened tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. It followed intense strikes by Israel in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah's first attack on the Israeli city of Haifa since the conflict began.

MEA has not canceled any flights since the start of this latest escalation, triggered last week by Hezbollah's pager explosions.