Israeli media report 4 locations for potential Hezbollah attack in Cyprus
An Israeli media outlet on Monday has listed four locations that Hezbollah could attack in Cyprus, should the country actively support Israeli military strikes in Gaza conflict.
According to an article published on Mako, which belongs to the Keshet Media Group, and written by Assaf Rsoenzweig, if Cyprus supports the Israeli strikes, then there are four locations that could be threatened.
One is the Andreas Papandreou air force base in Paphos, while another is the Nicosia base in Lakatamia.
The other two are a control centre in Troodos and the RAF base in Akrotiri.
According to the report, The Paphos air base, located near the city’s international airport, is less than 300 km from the Lebanese coast, a distance that is not a problem for Hezbollah. The Paphos air base is considered the largest and most central in Cyprus and is home to the main air infrastructure of the local air force, as well as many communications units.
Another possible target is the air base at Lakatamia, located just south of the Cypriot capital, Nicosia. This base is considered the headquarters of the Cypriot air force, but relatively few aircraft are based there.
In addition, the Cyprus Air Force control unit in the Troodos high mountains in the centre of the island could be used in an extreme scenario as a target for Hezbollah. The base has no runway for take-offs and landings and is not used by aircraft, but there are numerous radar units and command and control systems, as well as air defence systems.
The report also makes mention of the sovereign British base in Akrotiri, which has been previously used for US operations, according to the report, but not Israeli strikes.
However, in a report on Saturday, the British government said the British bases in Cyprus have not hosted any Israeli military aircraft or personnel.
In statements to the Cyprus News Agency, the unnamed source was asked to comment on Hezbollah’s threat against Cyprus.
“The sovereign base areas in Cyprus have not hosted any kind of Israeli military personnel or aircraft since before the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
Last week, the head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened Cyprus for the first time, saying Hezbollah could consider it “a part of the war” if it continued to allow Israel to use its airports and bases for military exercises.
It is widely believed that Nasrallah’s mention of Cyprus’ “airports and bases” concerned the RAF Akrotiri, a permanent military base that supports ongoing operations in the region, including Israel, as well as support for the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) in Cyprus.