Cyprus Mail 17 October 2023 - by Iole Damaskinos
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| Israeli's arriving in Limassol from Haifa |
Around 160 passengers arrived from Haifa at Limassol port early Tuesday morning. The group consisted of mostly dual US-Israeli citizens, some elderly, families with children and tourists.
The passengers who travelled on cruise ship ‘Rhapsody of the Sea’ docked at Limassol port around 6.15am, amid heightened security measures including armed police and sniffer dogs, to be met by US embassy staff. The ship had departed from Haifa on Monday around 4.15pm.
The cruise liner, with a capacity for 2,500, was initially expected to carry thousands more people wishing to evacuate from Israel and make four return trips.
Most of the 159 passengers, who are US citizens, are expected continue on their journey through Larnaca or Paphos airport, transferred by buses organised by the embassy. Others will travel to the Anarita migrant reception centre in Paphos, where they are expected to remain for a few days while awaiting flight availability.
“What happened is very scary, beyond our imagination, thousands are being murdered and butchered, for no reason just because we’re Jewish. Its horrific,” one mother carrying a small infant was filmed telling Philenews.
Asked how long she expected to be absent the evacuee replied, “I don’t know, maybe a month.”
Speaking on CyBC’s morning programme, director of the president’s press office Victoras Papadopoulos stated that 12 such sea trips daily had been planned.
It is unclear as yet whether the lower than expected numbers are due to intense diplomatic efforts underway, including the expected arrival of US President Joe Biden to Israel on Wednesday, which may have prompted some anticipated passengers to wait it out.
Last Friday, the first evacuation of people by sea was carried out on board the Crown Iris cruise ship which carried 1,000 passengers, mostly Europeans, to Larnaca port. Three hundred of the passengers were expected to return to their home countries.
As the passengers disembarked from the cruise ship, approximately 150 Israeli passengers who had arrived in Cyprus from various European countries boarded the ship to return to Israel.
Spokesman for the foreign ministry, Theodoros Gotsis said that the aim is for foreign nationals to be repatriated, however, he stressed that all necessary arrangements have been made to accommodate those in transit.
The civil defence has already prepared the necessary infrastructure for the reception of arrivals while a coordination meeting was held on Monday with all relevant state agencies.
Under the Estia plan points have been set up in the port of Limassol to provide food as well as basic necessities for children and the elderly.
A Red Cross station is operating at the port, as well as a clinic from the health and safety services and a first aid station, to provide help to any arrivals with health issues. Assistance is also being provided with transportation and accommodation.
US embassy staff are onsite assisting with arrangements for repatriation, while a hospitality site has also been set up in Limassol to serve evacuees staying in the city.
From the activation of the Estia plan on October 10 at 1.30pm up to and including October 16, a total of 625 people had arrived in Cyprus, most of whom have already been repatriated, the ministry said on Tuesday.
The numbers include ten Cypriot citizens and their family members, while the rest were other Europeans and third country citizens.
The figures do not include the more than 2,500 Israelis reported to have landed in Cyprus on commercial flights since the Hamas attacks.
The ministry added that since the activation of the plan, representatives of all services are permanently present at the Zenon coordination centre in Larnaca, Paphos airport and the ports of the Republic, and constant coordination with the diplomatic missions in the region in underway.
