Four people were arrested after an improvised explosive device detonated near the Israeli embassy early Saturday in Nicosia, causing minor damage, Cypriot police said. The explosion occurred in the Cypriot capital at 1:37 a.m. local time (10:37 p.m. GMT Friday), about 30 to 40 meters from the embassy, as the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza entered its third week. . According to police, the device contained an explosive material similar to that used in making fireworks.
Police announced the arrest of four suspects aged 17 to 21, including two near the scene on foot, the other two in a car parked on a nearby residential street. No information was given about the identity and nationality of the defendants, who must appear in court today. One of them had two knives and a hammer in his car, police said.
Enhanced security measures on the island
The conflict was sparked by the bloody attack launched from Gaza on October 7 by Hamas terrorists on Israeli soil. More than 1,400 people were killed on the Israeli side, the majority civilians on the day of the attack, according to the Israeli army. In the Gaza Strip more than 4,300 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the incessant bombardments by the Israeli army, according to the latest report from the Hamas Ministry of Health, in power in Gaza since 2007.
In Cyprus, which has a large Jewish community, security measures have been stepped up since the start of the conflict around the Israeli embassy and other sites, including the synagogue in the city of Larnaca. Few incidents of an anti-Semitic nature have been reported on the Mediterranean island, a popular destination for Israeli tourists, who form the second largest contingent of foreign tourists after the British.
Located 250 kilometers from the Israeli coast, Cyprus has welcomed people fleeing war who arrived aboard military flights and cruise ships.