A military transport plane from Greece evacuated dozens of Greek and Cypriot nationals from Lebanon on Thursday as fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah intensified.
The Hellenic Air Force sent a C-130 Hercules transport plane to Beirut on Thursday to carry out the evacuation, with state broadcaster ERT reporting that some 60 civilians are set to leave the country so far.
The plane was to stay in Beirut for around an hour before flying back, stopping first in Larnaca and then landing in Athens.
Greece’s Defense and Foreign ministries have transport planes and crisis management teams on standby to help citizens fleeing Lebanon.
Greece prepares to receive citizens fleeing Lebanon
A governmental assessment indicates Israel’s possible reaction to the latest attacks by Iran and its allies as well as a conflict in Lebanon, where approximately 3,500 Greek citizens reside and will potentially evacuate.
The assessment is based on information the Governmental Council for National Security (KYSEA) and diplomatic sources have made public.
Maritime rescue operations are also being coordinated to evacuate Greek citizens should conflicts intensify in the region.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs has chartered passenger vessels that are currently docked in Cyprus, ready to set sail for Lebanon if the situation deteriorates further.
The Greek community in Israel does not appear to be in immediate danger according to agency assessments. However, the situation remains fluid, and KYSEA is considering all possible scenarios, with the safety of Greek citizens being a top priority.
A 26-year-old Greek man was killed during a terrorist attack in the Jaffa area of Tel Aviv.
The victim was Ionas Karousis, born in Thessaloniki and a resident since 2020 of Tel Aviv where he was studying architecture. His father is a neurosurgeon in the Israeli city.
A total of seven people were killed, and several others sustained injuries – some seriously – when a gunman opened fire on members of the public in the Jaffa area.
Cyprus on standby for evacuations
Cyprus has fully activated a mechanism to allow third-country nationals evacuating the Middle East safe passage through the island as the crisis in the region worsens, a Cypriot government spokesperson said.
So far, no country has sought Cyprus’s assistance for a large-scale evacuation of civilians. Still, Cypriot authorities have recently facilitated moving personnel and isolated groups of people through Cyprus, spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in a statement.
“We are closely following the situation, fully prepared to support evacuation operations as developments unfold,” Letymbiotis said.
Cyprus Mail reported that a line of large tents had been erected inside the grounds of the Larnaca port in preparation for any such evacuation.
Foreign ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said the tents had been placed as part of the government’s “maximum state of readiness”, with the tents set to be used for matters such as registering arrivals and other administrative functions.
