Cyprus on stand-by for evacuations from Lebanon

The Cypriot authorities have been on the alert since Saturday in view of the possibility of escalation of hostilities between Israel and other regions of the Middle East.

United States Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma, visited Cyprus and inspected facilities that may be used in case of evacuation of civilians from Lebanon, Philenews reported.

Politicians from coalition and opposition parties in Israel were unanimous Saturday in their demand for a fierce Israeli response to a Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 people in the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams, most of them children.

Israeli ministers authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense chief Sunday to decide on the “manner and timing” of a response to the strike which Israel and the United States blamed on the Lebanese terror group.

Israel has vowed retaliation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Israeli jets hit targets in southern Lebanon during the day on Sunday and reportedly shelled sites there just after midnight Monday, as Lebanon braced for Israel’s expected reprisal and diplomats scrambled to keep the conflict from snowballing.

The strike was the single deadliest Hezbollah attack on northern Israel since fighting there began in October.

Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the attack which according to international experts was a mistake and had been intended to target Israeli headquarters in the region, not the 10,000 strong Druze population, who are Arab-speaking.

Cyprus is preparing for the possibility of a new wave of mass exodus of third country or Lebanese nationals fleeing to safety.