The Deepening ‘Israel’-Cyprus Alliance: A New Threat to Arab Lives?

The distance between Gaza and the Republic of Cyprus is approximately 380 kilometers by sea. The island plays a key role in Israeli and Western conspiracies against the besieged enclave.

On January 27, 2025, Republic of Cypriot Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas said “Israel” is a neighboring country closer to “us” than Greece and has priority in using “our military bases.”

“Cyprus relies more on Israel than Greece. Greeks may be our brothers, but Israel is our neighbor. Israelis are right next to us. They can reach Cyprus in three minutes,” he added.

Before these remarks, the Republic of Cyprus and Israeli media reported that the Cypriot administration was planning to allow Mossad agents to be stationed at Paphos and Larnaca airports for security purposes.

Reports further revealed that Mossad and the Israeli internal security agency (Shin Bet) had already conducted inspections at Larnaca airport and surrounding areas. This included surveillance of Gaza’s nearby shores using high-powered cameras and specialized equipment, accompanied by Cypriot police.

More significantly, developments are underway to expand military bases on the island, to be used by several countries—foremost among them, “Israel.”

What are these bases? And what are Israel’s plans for using the Republic of Cyprus as a regional stronghold in its war on Gaza?

Paphos Air Base

Cyprus is divided into two parts: the Republic of Cyprus (ROC), which administers the south, and the Turkish-administered north, known as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognized by Turkiye.

The ROC defense minister announced that his country would prioritize “Israel” in the use of Paphos Air Base, which is set to be upgraded by the United States, as well as the under-construction Evangelos Florakis Naval Base.

He stated that these bases would also be accessible to the U.S., the European Union, Egypt, Jordan, and other allied nations.

Palmas also noted that the air defense systems to be installed at the expanded Paphos base would provide aerial coverage for the entire island.

Paphos Air Base, also known as Andreas Papandreou, is located 10 kilometers north of Paphos International Airport and serves as the main and largest base of the Greek Cypriot Air Force.

It is home to the 55th Combat Unit, an independent operational group under the command of the Greek Cypriot Air Force, structured similarly to NATO’s standard combat units.

This unit maintains high readiness for operations under all conditions and is responsible for running five military squadrons.

Paphos also serves as a key hub for joint military exercises involving ROC (Greek Cyprus), Greece, France, “Israel,” the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Italy, and Egypt.

Following Operation al-Aqsa Flood launched by the Palestinian Resistance on October 7, 2023, against the Israeli Occupation, French, German, Dutch, and American aircraft began using Paphos as a base for logistical and intelligence operations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

This underscores the base’s growing strategic significance and the Israeli Occupation’s increasing focus on military cooperation with ROC in its war on Gaza.

Its Role in the War

During the Israeli Occupation’s war against Gaza and Lebanon, ROC played a key role—something the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah highlighted in June 2024.

In a speech three months before his assassination in an Israeli airstrike, Nasrallah warned, “Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war.”

Even before the war, ROC had maintained close military ties with Tel Aviv. Since 2014, the Israeli army has been conducting regular military exercises on the island.

Some of these drills were exclusively for Israeli forces, without Cypriot military participation—turning the country into a mere host for such exercises, a status “Israel” reserved only for Cyprus and the U.S.

Beyond that, these drills have carried clear hostile messages, not only to Gaza but to other regional players as well.

This was evident in the Chariots of Fire exercise in June 2022, where Israeli forces simulated a ground assault on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon.

Despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza, in April 2024, the Israeli Air Force conducted intensive drills in the Republic of Cyprus, simulating long-range strikes on Iranian territory and potential attacks on nuclear reactors.

Why the Republic of Cyprus?

The Israeli Occupation’s exclusive military and intelligence alliances with ROC are largely driven by the island’s strategic location between East and West.

Its proximity to key Middle Eastern and North African countries—such as the Palestinian-occupied territories, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Turkiye, and Iran—makes it a valuable hub for military operations.

This same advantage has also attracted major powers like the U.S., Britain, and France, all of which have established a military presence on the island to ensure rapid access to regional targets.

For instance, when Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960, London retained “sovereign base areas” under its full control, as stipulated by the 1959 London Agreement.

These areas cover 256 square kilometers—around 3% of the island’s total landmass—and include two separate bases in the south: Dhekelia in the east and Akrotiri in the west.

Both bases house large military airfields and intelligence-gathering stations.

The U.S. also operates four surveillance sites on the island, including an interception center in Ayios Nikolaos (Dhekelia), which is believed to monitor calls, texts, and emails across the Middle East and North Africa.

Another facility specializes in electronic intelligence gathering.

During the Israeli genocide in Gaza, British and American forces used the Akrotiri and Dhekelia bases to provide weapons and intelligence support.

The U.S. has shipped arms to “Israel” from across Europe via Akrotiri.

Supporting Displacement Plans

ROC has not only backed “Israel” militarily and in intelligence operations but has also played a key role in facilitating plans to displace Palestinians, particularly from Gaza.

This became evident in a proposal by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, announced at a humanitarian aid conference in Paris on November 1, 2023. He pledged to establish a maritime corridor to deliver aid from Cyprus to Gaza.

The proposed route would bypass Egypt’s Rafah crossing and Israeli-controlled entry points, with aid departing directly from Larnaca Port in Cyprus.

On December 19, 2023, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced that his government had given preliminary approval to the Cypriot proposal.

The very next day, Cohen made a quick diplomatic visit to Larnaca, where he met his Cypriot counterpart, Constantinos Kombos, and inspected the Zenon Coordination Center and Larnaca Port, which was expected to serve as the launch point for the maritime corridor.

“The creation of a maritime corridor to Gaza will help Israel's economic disengagement from the Strip. We will not allow a return to the reality that preceded the murderous terrorist attack of October 7,” said Cohen.

The Israeli foreign ministry later issued a statement confirming that Israeli officials had been collaborating with the Republic of Cyprus and other countries to push forward the corridor plan. The plan would allow security screenings in Cyprus before sending aid directly to Gaza, eliminating the need for Israeli checkpoints.

However, on January 1, 2024, the Palestinian Cabinet rejected the proposal, warning that it aligned with Israeli displacement agendas.

In a statement, the Palestinian government said this corridor carries risks tied to the Israeli Occupation’s broader plans. By operating this route between Cyprus and Gaza, “Israel aims to facilitate the forced displacement of our people from the Strip.”

The Cabinet instead called for aid to be delivered via land border crossings, rejecting what it described as an “aid route disguised under humanitarian pretenses”—one that could ultimately align with the Israeli goal of ethnic cleansing in Gaza.