NICOSIA – The escalating Mideast conflict that has Israel hunting Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip and now battling Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and with Iran is seeing evacuees landing on Cyprus and more expected to come.

The national evacuation plan Estia to take in Third Country Nationals from Lebanon and Israel via Cyprus has been “fully implemented,” Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis posted on X.

While he said there haven’t been any requests for mass evacuations Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis told state broadcaster CyBC that six to seven boats were arriving daily at the Ayia Napa marina with people fleeing the trouble.

Those include diplomatic personnel from the European Union to Israel or Lebanon, who are being assisted with transfer to their country of origin via Cyprus, the radio station said.

Some 30 boats with 500 EU or other nationals have landed in Cyprus, with flows expected to pick up after Iran fired missiles into Tel Aviv after the head of its ally Hezbollah was killed in Lebanon in an Israeli strike.

Israel said it would retaliate against Iran too, the conflict escalating and threatening to engulf the region, with Greece calling an emergency session to discuss the possible ramifications that are evolving.

EU migration regulations apply, Gotsis stated, and only those evacuees who fulfill the set criteria are permitted to be transferred to Cyprus. Around 1,000 registered Cypriot nationals are living in Israel or Lebanon, of whom a small percentage had requested to be repatriated so far, he said.

The Red Cross reportedly asked boat owners to assist in taking people out of Lebanon with CyBC saying they were allegedly charging 5,000 euros ($5,536) each to take them away to Cyprus and safety.

International air flights being told to avoid the Mideast areas in conflict reportedly will be diverted in some cases to the island as Cyprus is girding for more arrivals if the violence rises and sees more people fleeing.

Gotsis had told the Cyprus Mail that Cyprus was at its “maximum state of readiness” for a potential evacuation after Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said Greece would provide a Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft to take Cypriot citizens from Lebanon.

The United Kingdom, the former Colonial ruler which still has military bases on Cyprus, earlier sent 700 troops, border force agents, and other officials to Cyprus to help with contingency planning to remove British citizens from Lebanon.