Bundeswehr special units are said to have landed in Cyprus. It is supposed to be about possible operations to free German citizens in the Gaza Strip.
Nicosia/Gaza – The federal government has apparently relocated several Bundeswehr special units to Cyprus in order to prepare for possible operations in the Middle East conflict. This should include, among other things, the liberation of German hostages and other citizens who have to flee the escalating situation in the Gaza Strip and possibly from Lebanon, which borders Israel.
With its location in the eastern Mediterranean, the state of Cyprus is the closest island state to Lebanon in the east and Israel in the east-west for the German Bundeswehr to carry out military operations across the Mediterranean in both countries. As the Picture Citing anonymous sources from security circles, members of the special military unit “Special Forces Command” (KSK), special forces of the Navy (KSM) and specialized special forces of the Federal Police for hostage rescue were transferred to Cyprus and each was supplied with equipment.
Israel war: Bundeswehr sends special forces to Cyprus
With the preparations, the federal government wants to arm itself for future operations to free German citizens from the Middle East, should the War in Israel against the terrorist organization Hamas. Accordingly, the special units were sent to Cyprus for a possible hostage rescue. The Foreign Office is currently talking about a total of eight cases in which Hamas hostages have German as well as Israeli citizenship. A case can also include several family members. The federal government currently has no direct contact with the hostages in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli information, a total of more than 200 hostages were kidnapped by Hamas militants into the Gaza Strip.
In addition to hostages, there are also numerous German citizens in the Gaza Strip who work and live locally. It is currently not possible for them to escape from the war zone either. It should be loud Picture-Information is a medium two-digit number. The SWR reported on Sunday, among others, from Sarah Naim from Wiesbaden, whose father and his family are stuck in Dai al-Bala, roughly in the middle of the Gaza Strip. He founded the German Center for Education and Languages in Gaza in 2013 and has been teaching there since then. “There is currently no safe corridor through which German citizens can be evacuated and flown out,” Sarah Naim told the SWR.
German special forces in Cyprus: In addition to Israel, the situation in Lebanon is also causing concern
There are also concerns about German citizens who are staying in Lebanon, Israel’s neighboring state to the north. For this purpose, the precautionary relocation of Navy combat swimmers (KSM) to Cyprus is intended, should overseas operations be necessary. Lebanon is home to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, which has formed an “axis of resistance” against Israel together with the Iranian government and Hamas for decades. For days there have been regular incidents on the border between the Israeli military and Hezbollah.
The Israeli army reported that tank shells were fired in several locations in Israeli territory. Israeli soldiers returned fire. Israeli mortar shell fire was reported from Lebanon. Meanwhile, in the Lebanese capital Beirut, hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the US Embassy on Wednesday, chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
By positioning German special forces in Cyprus, the federal government wants to be prepared for possible operations to free German citizens from Lebanon in addition to military operations in the Gaza Strip should Israel’s war against Hamas develop into a multi-front war. Twelve days ago, Israel declared war on the radical Islamist terrorist organization Hamas in response to the surprise major attack by Hamas on October 7th, in which 1,400 people were killed in a cruel and brutal manner. Since then, the Israeli government has repeatedly bombed the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians. According to Palestinian information, more than 3,400 people died in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli air strikes. (nz with afp material)
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