Police at Limassol’s port in Cyprus were nervous as Israelis who had sought a haven and were stranded by weeks of airline disruption gradually arrived on Thursday to board a cruise ship that would take them home.
Many had spent weeks away from home after Israel closed its airspace to commercial flights, but were now boarding the cruise ship Crown Iris, bound for Ashdod port. This will be its final repatriation voyage as operations at Ben Gurion resume. The 11-deck Panamanian-registered ship has ferried 2,000 to Israel on each of its trips.
Israelis are purchasing real estate in sensitive areas that pose a threat to national security
Stefanos Stefanou
On the dockside concourse some polite, if slightly stressed local Cypriot officers took passport details and made a few calls to their bosses. There have been reports of Iranian-linked sleeper agents on the island and last week police arrested a suspect conducting surveillance against the nearby British airbase, RAF Akrotiri. A statement said a British citizen was being investigated for ties to an Iranian plot to attack the base.
Once they have taken details, the senior officer of the three apologetically nodded in the direction of the ship and said: “You understand this is sensitive.” He then made it clear that reporting from the site “is over”.
The voyages were organised by Israeli national airline El Al and came as flights began leaving Cyprus for Israel after it began the phased reopening its airspace following a ceasefire with Iran.
Israel first closed its airspace on June 13 when its troops launched their attack on Iran, leaving and 100,000 to 150,000 Israelis stranded abroad.
At her hotel, while was preparing for the voyage, stranded El Al passenger Nesher Drohah told The National she had been out of Israel since June 6.
“We travelled to Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania and we were meant to be there until June 18 when the war broke out,” she said. “But we’ve been stuck in Tirana until two days ago so now we're here to go home by boat.”
Ms Drohah said she was anxious to return to Israel after people she knows had a narrow escape from an Iranian missile but lost their home.
“He’s OK but the house is not OK, the car is not OK,” she said. “For that reason we were trying to fly back to get home fast and I hope tomorrow we will be home.”
Ms Drohah said she backed the decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch an attack on Iran. "Iran is dangerous for all over the world but for us the most," she said.
Cyprus has become a key transit point for Israelis wanting to return home at a time when there are no direct flights, and for foreign nationals looking to escape the conflict. They include UK citizens first evacuated by the Royal Air Force to Akrotiri airbase, along the same peninsula as Limassol’s port.
There are frequent flights to Cyprus from Israel, as a result of the island’s popularity as a tourist destination for Israelis. In times of tension, including the months since the October 7, 2023 assault by Hamas that led to Israel's Gaza operation, Cyprus has been a point of refuge.
The spillover from the Israeli assault on Gaza has seen a steady flow of Israelis arriving in Cyprus. While there is a ceasefire with Iran, the warplanes, drones and artillery attacks continue against the Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Cyprus chief rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin has said that about 6,500 Israelis were in Cyprus after leaving the war zone for the East Mediterranean island, the closest European nation to Israel. Others had travelled there to catch flights or boat trips back to their country.
Many Israelis have now settled in Cyprus and bought property there. There are now six Chabad houses, which are community centres and places of worship, on the island.
'Targeted purchases'
The presence of Israelis has provoked a backlash. This week, local political party Akel criticised those who were buying land on the island.
Stefanos Stefanou, the left-wing party’s leader, accused Israelis of making “targeted purchases” of land with the aim of creating gated communities in Larnaca and Limassol. “Our country is being taken away from us,” he said. “Israelis are purchasing real estate in sensitive areas that pose a threat to national security.”
The party has put forward legislation in parliament aimed at restricting "golden visas", which are issued to non-EU nationals for an investment of at least €300,000 ($351,000) in real estate or company shareholding.
Mr Stefanou appeared to focus on Israelis buying land, claiming “Zionist schools are being built” and quoting what he said were media reports “suggesting that Israel is preparing a ‘backyard’ in Cyprus”.
At Limassol’s Chabad house, Rabbi Yitzchok Lapidus told The National that recently he has seen an increase in “anti-Semitic graffiti”.
He is one of three rabbis living there with their wives, under the leadership of Rabbi Yair Baitz.
But Rabbi Lapidus's mind has been focused on providing food and shelter for the “thousands” of Israelis, most of whom have come through the doors of the Chabad houses in Cyprus.
A traditional Israeli breakfast of fried eggs, salad and bread was laid on in the cafe next door just in case any travellers arrived that morning.
Such has been the desperation of Israelis to get home, many have resorted to unusual methods, explained the Rabbi.
“They tried to go to Israel by yacht, by helicopter. There are a lot of families who were stuck here and need help to get out because of an emergency. People needed medicine, there were pregnant women,” he told The National.
“Some of them went for one day or for business and they were stuck for a week, two weeks.
“The people who were stuck here, we gave them food, whatever they needed, a place to sleep for free.”
In the marina area of the city, one yacht charterer confirmed that her company had leased boats to Israelis.
“It was our company that did most of this. There was a lot of demand last week and through the weekend, but that’s now over as people can get flights.”
Another yacht charter company said it turned down requests by Israelis to charter boats.
“We had a lot of inquiries from people who wanted to go to Israel but we decided it would be too risky because of the war, but I know others were happy to.”
Omer Gonen is one of the unlucky ones who was only meant to be out of Israel for weekend. He went to Limassol with his wife and two children, along with their friends, two weekends ago but has been stuck here.
“We just wanted a weekend holiday but we’re still here,” he said. “We’re now booked on a very expensive flight on Saturday. It’s good to be going home now, but it’s been terrible here.”
Sitting on the floor with his two friends at Larnaca airport, Uriel, 24, from Jerusalem, explained they had just been released from the army and were about to return from a holiday in Tbilisi, in Georgia when they became stuck.
“We had been on holiday for two to three weeks and then we got stuck,” he said. “We came from Tbilisi to here because it’s easy for us to get a visa.” Uriel said he and his friends were about to board a special flight organised by a wealthy Israeli, which was exempt from the ban on commercial flights.
He said their families “were in the safest place but it’s still a worry” but he added “we’ve had two-and-a-half years of war”.
Meanwhile, the first RAF flight set off from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon carrying 63 British passengers, who landed in Cyprus and were then flown back to Birmingham Airport where they arrived in the early hours of Tuesday.
In the days since, more Britons have made the journey home as part of the government's evacuation strategy.
Meanwhile, the US has helped about 400 of its citizens and others to fly out of Israel since Saturday and hopes to accommodate more in the coming days, a senior State Department official said.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
NBA FINALS SO FAR
(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106
Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland
Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)
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MATCH INFO
What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS
Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0
Favourite book: ‘The Art of Learning’ by Josh Waitzkin
Favourite film: Marvel movies
Favourite parkour spot in Dubai: Residence towers in Jumeirah Beach Residence
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)
Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
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Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
UAE%20SQUAD
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MATCH INFO
Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
Results
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Winner: Ziyadd, Richard Mullen (jockey), Jean de Roualle (trainer).
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8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa, Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammad Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A