Govt: We are ready to aid with Lebanon evacuation

By Tom Cleaver

The government is ready to help with a possible impending evacuation of Lebanon, deputy spokesman Yiannis Antoniou said on Monday.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, he said “we are ready”, and explained that the country’s facilities are “on standby” in accordance with the Estia plan, Cyprus’ existing plan to deal with mass evacuation events of European Union and third country nationals from neighbouring countries.

“If help is needed, we will provide it. We have the know-how and the infrastructure to do so,” he added.

Antoniou’s comments some after the United States’ Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma visited Cyprus on the same day.

The US government said Verma had “visited key Cypriot logistical facilities” and was “briefed on ongoing planning to support crisis management in the region”.

During his tour of the region, Verma also visited the Lebanese capital Beirut, where he discussed with his country’s embassy there “support for US citizens in a complex and quickly changing security environment”, while also meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib.

His next port of call will be the southeastern Turkish city of Adana, where he will visit the US’ Incirlik air base to “review the logistical resources available to support crisis preparedness needs”.

The Estia plan has been activated before, most recently in October last year following Hamas’ attack on Israel, as EU and third country nationals fled the country after the attack.

The plan entails Cyprus acting as a hub for third country nationals fleeing a neighbouring country before being repatriated to their own countries of origin.

Typically, extra emergency flights are organised with the aim of maximising the number of people who can be evacuated to Cyprus, before being taken to their own countries of origin.

The plan swings into action when other countries request to use Cyprus as a hub for evacuations, with hundreds or thousands of people then passing through.

When Sudan was evacuated in April last year, a total of 2,611 people arrived in Cyprus, while over 1,000 are known to have arrived from Israel in October.

The Cypriot government had said at the end of October last year that it could handle evacuees from Lebanon, Israel and the broader region should violence in the region escalate.

Israeli ministers authorised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence chief on Sunday to decide on the “manner and timing” of a response to the strike which Israel and the United States blamed on the Lebanese terror group.

Word of a potential evacuation comes after Israel vowed to retaliate following the deaths of 12 people in a strike attributed to Hezbollah in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Hezbollah denies responsibility for the strikes.

Israeli aircraft bombed targets in southern Lebanon during Sunday, and the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rhetoric suggested their bombing of Lebanon would intensify.

“Israel will not overlook this murderous attack. Hezbollah will pay a heavy price it has not paid up to now,” he said.