While the missiles are believed to have fallen short, landing in the Mediterranean waters, the event marks a terrifying expansion of the Middle East conflict into the doorstep of the European Union.
The FCDO is urging Britons in Cyprus to:
Humanizing this crisis means looking at the people on the ground. There are the 76,000 British nationals currently in the Middle East facing evacuation plans, but there are also the thousands of expats and locals in Cyprus who woke up to news of ballistic missiles in their waters.
The coming days will be critical. As the UK bolsters its presence at Akrotiri with additional fighter jets, the hope is that deterrence will prevail over escalation. But for now, the shadow of the missile remains over the Mediterranean.
