More flights to and from Cyprus in the Middle East were cancelled on Saturday as the conflict between Israel and Iran continued to escalate.

Nine incoming flights from Tel Aviv and two from Haifa were cancelled at Larnaca airport, while another from Beirut to Larnaca was also cancelled.

In the opposite direction, no fewer than 12 flights from Larnaca to Tel Aviv, two flights from Larnaca to Haifa, and one flight from Larnaca to Beirut were all cancelled.

A number of flights between Larnaca and Tel Aviv scheduled for Sunday have already been cancelled, as has the planned flight on Sunday morning between Paphos and Amman.

Later, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis told the Cyprus News Agency that a total of 32 flights have been diverted to Cyprus since Friday morning as a result of the ongoing conflict.

He said that exactly 23 such flights, carrying a total of 979 passengers, have landed at Larnaca airport, and that nine such flights, carrying a total of 1,448 passengers, have landed at Paphos airport.

“Some” of those flights, he added, have since refuelled and departed, though he did not specify how many.

Meanwhile, the police said they have “strengthened” their security measures in both Larnaca and Paphos “due to the prevailing situation in the Middle East”.

In Larnaca, the police said, there are increased patrols being carried out by armed police throughout the town, including at the airport, at the port, at the marina and near hotels where Israeli nationals whose flights were diverted after the country closed its airspace are being accommodated.

In addition, “places frequented by large numbers of people”, including the Finikoudes beachfront and the Mackenzie beach area will also have a heightened police presence, as will the Larnaca synagogue and what the police described as “businesses of Israeli interest”.

In Paphos, the police said that “preventative measures” have been taken at both the town’s airport and in hotels accommodating Israeli nationals, with regular patrols being undertaken at large shops, the Paphos waterfront, the Kato Paphos harbour, and the Kato Paphos synagogue.