Cyprus prepares for a potential migrant influx due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Authorities say Cyprus is doubling the existing 1,153-person capacity of its main migrant reception camp as the island nation prepares for potentially a large influx of people if the crisis in neighboring Israel and Gaza escalates. The Pournara reception camp — on the outskirts of the capital Nicosia — will see an increase in staffing to adequately provide needed care to new arrivals and expedite asylum application processing, Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said in a statement Monday. An Interior Ministry statement said authorities will immediately ask the European Union to dispatch more personnel to help process asylum applications. According to official statistics, migrant arrivals by boat in August and September more than tripled from the same period last year.