Limassol: Approximately 1,600 foreign nationals arrived in Cyprus on Saturday morning aboard the cruise ship ‘Crown Iris’, which docked at Limassol port from Israel. Following their arrival, the process of boarding Israeli citizens for their repatriation commenced.
According to Cyprus News Agency, this marks the second voyage to and from Limassol port by the ‘Crown Iris’, participating in the Israeli operation “Safe Return”. The ship has canceled its scheduled cruises for the season to facilitate this operation. On Wednesday, the vessel arrived at Larnaca port carrying around 1,500 foreign nationals and docked for the first time at the DP World Limassol passenger terminal on Thursday, where it embarked approximately 1,600 Israelis. These individuals disembarked at Ashdod port, which was ultimately chosen over Haifa.
The majority of the foreigners arriving on Saturday at Limassol port were young individuals from the US and Europe with Jewish roots. They shared with the Cyprus News Agency that they were part of the Jewish heritage program Birthright Israel and are now returning to their home countries. To facilitate their travel, dozens of buses were mobilized to transport them either directly to the airport or to tourist accommodations where they will stay until their departure from Cyprus.
As the foreign nationals disembarked, about 1,600 Israelis boarded the ship to return to their homeland. In their statements to the Cyprus News Agency, they expressed that despite the wartime and dangerous situation, they are returning to Israel to be with their families. The ‘Crown Iris’ is scheduled to depart from Limassol port this evening and is expected to return on Monday with a smaller number of foreign nationals, while continuing to repatriate Israeli citizens.
The ship’s missions are set to proceed every other day, with the cruise ship remaining docked at Limassol port next Thursday and Saturday.