Thousands of people converged on Cyprus on Thursday as the island became a transport hub, both for Israelis attempting to return to the country, and for others attempting to flee the Middle East, as the conflict between Israel and Iran continues.
Larnaca airport, now a key junction for those attempting to travel to and from Israel, was filled with crowds of people attempting to return to their respective home countries, with some talking to the Cyprus Mail about the ordeal.
“It’s getting more and more unbearable, rockets are threatening our lives,” a group of young men in their thirties and twenties from Portugal and Spain, all of whom also have Israeli citizenship, said.
They were due to fly to Lisbon on a chartered flight organised by the Portuguese embassy in Nicosia which departed on Thursday afternoon with Portuguese nationals, as well as their partners and relatives, on board.
One of the group explained to the Cyprus Mail the extent of their journey to the island, saying they were first taken by bus from Israel to the Egyptian town of Taba, located in the Sinai peninsula next to the Israeli border, and just 11 kilometres from the Israeli city of Eilat.
From Taba, he said, the group was taken to Sharm El-Sheikh, where they boarded a military aircraft and flew to Cyprus.
Another traveller, a 25-year-old Jewish Canadian, told the Cyprus Mail he had arrived in Larnaca two days ago aboard the Crown Iris in a privately organised cruise arranged by the organisation he was travelling with, Birthright Israel.
Around 1,500 people of Jewish origin – citizens of the United States, Canada and Australia – arrived at the Larnaca port on Wednesday morning aboard the cruise ship Crown Iris, which had departed from the Israeli port of Ashdod the day before.
“They took us all to the port here in Larnaca and then we were taken to Paralimni, where we stayed until this morning,” one passenger said.
He said he had seen nine flights cancelled since first attempting to leave Israel, but that he is now heading to Canada.
“The Canadian embassy [in Tel Aviv] didn’t do anything. They didn’t consider it an emergency,” he added, saying there was no form of evacuation or official support.
Two Arab Israelis in their fifties were also among the travellers. They had travelled to Georgia before the conflict started, before finding themselves unable to secure a direct route home. They had arrived in Cyprus on Thursday morning.
“We were stuck in Georgia for about a week before we managed to get a flight to Larnaca,” one of the pair said, adding that they would then fly to Taba, before returning to Israel.
According to their plan, they are expected to be home by tonight.
“We were told there are buses with Israeli security from Taba. From there, we will cross the border, reach Eilat in southern Israel, and then continue to Tel Aviv before heading to our homes in the north,” one of the pair said.
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