US embassy in Israel to evacuate nationals via Cyprus on Monday (updated)

The US embassy in Israel has offered American citizens and their immediate relatives evacuation by sea from Haifa to Cyprus on Monday, a US embassy spokesperson said on Sunday.

The vessel, which was originally believed to be due to arrive in Cyprus on Sunday evening is now expected to dock in Limassol with over 2,000 passengers early on Tuesday morning.

Onboard will be mainly American citizens fleeing the increasingly dangerous situation in Israel and Gaza.

In a post on the X platform, US undersecretary of state Victoria Nuland thanked Cyprus for its support.

“Grateful to Republic of Cyprus President for the support his government has shown to US citizens transiting Cyprus following the horrific Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel,” she wrote.

Grateful to Republic of Cyprus President @Christodulides for the support his government has shown to U.S. citizens transiting Cyprus following the horrific Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel. 🇺🇸🇨🇾

— Under Secretary Victoria Nuland (@UnderSecStateP) October 14, 2023

On Saturday the Biden administration ordered ‘non emergency’ staff to leave Israel and urged Americans in Gaza to head the crossing to Egypt in the hope it will be open.

A Royal Danish plane landed in Paphos on Saturday from Israel with 80 passengers on board.

A further UK government-arranged evacuation flight out of Tel Aviv, carrying 18 British nationals, also arrived on Saturday morning at Larnaca with more flights expected to follow in coming days.

According to British reports, the aircraft used for this repatriation flight was an Airbus 400M, provided by the Royal Air Force, as the commercial airline originally contracted to execute repatriation flights from Israel has been having difficulties arranging insurance.

Among the evacuees were eight people with dual Cypriot and British citizenship.

The foreign office said its flights were available to British nationals, including dual nationals, and dependants if travelling with a British national normally resident in the UK.

Each ticket costs £300, which it said “reflects the costs of operating the flight”.

The Cyprus government on Tuesday activated the national ‘Estia’ action plan for the reception of people fleeing the ongoing conflict in Israel since when a strong of planes and ships have arrived.

In addition to the US, other countries that have applied evacuate citizens from Israel through the Estia plan include Denmark, the UK, Portugal, Holland, Belgium and Germany.

By midday on Sunday the plan had reportedly seen 502 citizens of Portugal, the UK and Denmark evacuated on eight military flights.