A small anti-war protest took place near the Israeli embassy in Nicosia on Wednesday.
Demonstrators held placards and banners calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. One banner read: ‘Stop ignoring Israeli war crimes,’ whilst another declared: ‘Israel is a terrorist apartheid state’.
The protest coincided with the arrival of the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Riyad Al Maliki, who paid a working visit to Cyprus at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantinos Kombos.
Speaking in Nicosia, Al-Maliki emphasized that the magnitude of the disaster that has occurred in Gaza was unprecedented. He stated that, from his contacts in Cyprus, he has felt that there is a feeling of collective responsibility for humanitarian aid and the Republic of Cyprus is doing everything it can to this end.
Meanwhile, Israel is facing mounting calls to agree to a truce in the Gaza Strip as its deadly conflict with Hamas has lasted for more than four months and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza as of Wednesday.
The calls came as Israel was indicating it was set to launch a ground operation in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, where about 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have sought refuge from the Israeli relentless bombardments in other parts of the coastal enclave.
