Ship evacuating US nationals leaves Israel for Cyprus

A ship evacuating US nationals from Israel leaves for Cyprus from the port of Haifa, as war rages between Israel and the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.

With Israel now moving toward a ground operation in the Strip, the US embassy yesterday urged its “citizens and their immediate family members with a valid travel document” to depart from Haifa today.

The cruise ship is expected to reach the southern port city of Limassol tomorrow morning, Cypriot foreign ministry spokesperson Theodoros Gotsis tells local media.

Gotsis says that although the sea route was organized for American citizens by the US embassy in Nicosia in cooperation with Cypriot authorities, there could be other foreign nationals on board.

It is not immediately clear how many passengers boarded the ship at Haifa.