Nicosia (AFP) - A first group of evacuees from Israel arrived in Cyprus on Tuesday aboard a US-chartered cruise ship as the island's authorities announced plans for a twice-daily ferry link for those wishing to leave.
The 159 evacuees on board the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Rhapsody of the Sea primarily consisted of elderly individuals, families with children and tourists.
The ship, which left the port of Haifa in northern Israel, docked at around 6:15 am (0315 GMT) in the island's second city Limassol. Security was tight with armed police and sniffer dogs.
US ambassador Julie Fisher was at the port to welcome Americans among the evacuees.
"This is a very challenging moment, as you can imagine, for those choosing to leave Israel, and we want to help and do everything we can to make this as smooth as possible," Fisher told reporters.
She said the Cypriot government "is making a huge difference for our citizens and, from what I've seen, for citizens of many other countries as well."
The cruise ship, designed to accommodate 2,500 passengers, was initially expected to transport a much larger number of evacuees and was scheduled to make four return trips.
President Nikos Christodoulides's chief spokesman Victor Papadopoulos told state radio a ferry would operate every 12 hours between Haifa and Limassol to evacuate foreign nationals from Israel.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Theodoros Gotsis told the broadcaster that the island was committed to helping repatriate foreign nationals and ensuring that all necessary arrangements are made to accommodate those in transit.
Cyprus is being used as a safe transfer hub for foreign nationals evacuated from Israel after Hamas's shock October 7 attack, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, most of them civilians, triggered all-out war with the Palestinian Islamist group which rules Gaza.
Not counting Tuesday's arrivals, 625 evacuees have arrived in Cyprus from Israel, most of whom have since been repatriated.
