Activist groups accuse Cyprus of enabling the transfer of military equipment to Israel after a shipment of valves for defence company Elbit Systems allegedly transited through Larnaca airport.
“The Cypriot government has allowed the transfer of military aid through civilian infrastructure, directly facilitating Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the groups said in a joint statement signed by AFOA, BDS Cyprus, Far Right Watch Cyprus, Genocide-Free Cyprus and United for Palestine Cyprus.
The groups noted that the Palestinian Youth Movement said its research team tracked the cargo using air waybill data. “This intelligence detailed the planned route from Italy to Liège, Cyprus, and finally Israel,” it said. Independent flight tracking confirmed that Challenge Airlines flight 5C 606, operating under ICAO code ICL606, landed at Larnaca early on Aug. 24 before departing for Ben Gurion Airport, where it arrived at 08:53.
According to the release, the shipment originated in Somma Lombardo, Italy, reaching Liège Airport on Aug. 23 at 20:58 before being flown to Cyprus. The air waybill number was listed as 70013847536, with Elbit Systems in Karmiel, Israel, as the recipient.
The shipment of valves for Elbit Systems originated in Somma Lombardo, Italy, traveled by truck to Liège Airport, Belgium, and was then flown to Cyprus on a Challenge Airlines cargo plane.
— Genocide-Free Cyprus (@genocidefree_cy) August 24, 2025
European states remain complicit in allowing the transfer of military aid to 'Israel'. https://t.co/c6oDnGaIjV pic.twitter.com/eswSrT5nU1
The statement described Elbit as “one of the central pillars of Israel’s military industry” and said its weapons were marketed globally as “battle-tested – a euphemism for being used against Palestinian civilians.”
The groups also said the same aircraft had flown the Liège–Cyprus–Israel route at least 20 times since December 2024. “The high frequency of these flights significantly increases the risk that Cypriot territory and airports are being regularly used to transfer Israeli military aid, making this more than an isolated incident,” the statement read.
They called for “a full public investigation into the transfer of this and other shipments routed through Cyprus” and for “the urgent publication of the complete cargo list of Challenge Airlines flight 5C 606.”
The groups urged the government to “guarantee that Cypriot airports and ports will never again be used to facilitate military aid transfers to Israel.”
The statement concluded by noting that the incident “proves beyond doubt that Cyprus is not a neutral actor but a logistical partner in Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians. The Cypriot government must be held accountable for its role in enabling these crimes”.
Israel’s war against Gaza began following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages. At least 62,122 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the local health ministry.
More than 90% of Gaza’s homes are estimated damaged or destroyed, with healthcare, water and sanitation systems collapsed. UN-backed food security experts have declared that Gaza City is experiencing severe famine.
Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.
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