Almost three tonnes of medicines and consumables have been gathered for Lebanon and the dispatch of aid to Beirut will begin on Friday, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The shipments were arranged by the foreign ministry, in close cooperation with the health ministry, after Lebanese authorities informed their Cypriot counterparts of the serious needs of the medical system there.

“We responded by gathering pharmaceutical aid, which is being completed today,” the foreign ministry’s press release said.

“Cyprus will continue its systematic effort to support people affected by the current circumstances in the broader region of the Middle East,” it added.

The permanent secretaries of the foreign and health ministries, Andreas Kakouris and Christina Yiannaki respectively, as well as Lebanese ambassador in Nicosia Claude El Hajal attended the gathering point of the humanitarian aid at Larnaca airport.

Speaking to the media, El Hajal thanked the Cyprus government and President Nikos Christodoulides personally for the support.

“The moment we asked for it, we received approval for the dispatch of medical aid to Lebanon,” she said.

The Lebanese ambassador said that her country has suffered more than 10,000 attacks from Israel since September 23, when the situation escalated.

“Over 2,000 people have lost their lives, 10,000 injured, and more than one million displaced.”

Meanwhile some hospitals in Lebanon have ceased to function, while those that are still operating are under immense stress.

Asked how many Lebanese nationals have sought temporary refuge in Cyprus over the past few weeks, the ambassador said she did not have the hard numbers.

She did say several Lebanese have come here on short-term visas, while others own apartments or have family in Cyprus.

“We’ve got about 20 families who reached out to the [Lebanese] embassy and have registered their children in schools in Cyprus.”