The Cyprus Red Cross is offering humanitarian aid to the island’s airports and ports, in the context of the Estia National plan, Leda Koursoumba, First Vice President of the Cyprus Red Cross Society told CNA. Cyprus deployed the ESTIA plan for the reception and repatriation of foreign citizens, following the eruption of fighting between Israel and Hamas. So far more than 268 citizens arrived in Cyprus from Israel. Cyprus has so far received 26 requests from 26 countries for the evacuation of foreign nationals from the Gaza Strip and Israel to their countries via Cyprus. Koursoumba said that CRC personnel are located at the airports and ports of Cyprus offering humanitarian aid if requested, adding that food and emergency kits are offered to persons who fled the war zone. Responding to a question whether the Red Cross will launch a collection of humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, Koursoumba said that the needs are not known in the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing war. Cyprus Red Cross operates on the directives provided by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) which are on site,’ she said, adding that many of the federation’s staff in the area have been killed in violation of the international and humanitarian law.
Source: Cyprus News Agency