Gov’t steps up evacuation of Poles from war-torn Israel: FM
Poland is sending three more diplomats to help oversee the evacuation of Polish citizens from war-torn Israel, the Polish foreign minister said on Monday, adding that the evacuation operation could also take place through Jordan.
Polish tourists evacuated from war-torn Israel land at Warsaw’s Okęcie airport on Monday, October 9, 2023.PAP/Leszek Szymański
Zbigniew Rau briefed journalists about the conflict in Israel at a news conference in Warsaw, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Poland’s top diplomat said that a 25-strong team of foreign ministry officials was coordinating help for Polish citizens staying in Israel, while about a dozen diplomats were working on the ground in Tel Aviv.
Rau announced: “I have just given orders that three more diplomats be sent from Warsaw to Tel Aviv.”
He added: “I have also sent two diplomats from Athens to the city of Chania on the Greek island of Crete, as the local airport is being used as a transit airport.”
Poland’s foreign ministry has made available two helplines for Polish citizens after the Hamas attack in Israel, one in Poland at + 48 22 523 88 80 and another in Israel at + 972 372 53 111, as well as a designated email address: ewakuacja@msz.gov.pl, the PAP news agency reported.
Rau also told reporters that he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Maliki on Sunday.
Poland’s top diplomat added that earlier on Monday he held talks with the foreign minister of Jordan.
Rau declared: “In all these conversations, I emphasised the situation of Polish citizens currently staying in Israel. I received assurances from the Jordan side that if the Polish government decides the Jordan route might be useful in the evacuation of Poles from Israel, the Jordan authorities will take all steps to facilitate this.”
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau meets reporters in Warsaw on Monday, October 9, 2023. Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak
Earlier on Monday, three military planes carrying several hundred Poles evacuated from Israel landed at Warsaw’s Okęcie airport, the PAP news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak confirmed that the Polish Army would carry out the evacuation of Polish tourists from Israel via Crete.
Błaszczak told a news conference: “Our military resources are gathered in the port of Chania. We’ll be making flights from Crete to Tel Aviv, then from Tel Aviv to Crete and to Poland.”
He added that this arrangement was designed to ensure that Polish citizens received help as soon as possible and that the operation would continue “for as long as it takes,” the IAR news agency reported.
The defence minister said that another military plane had landed in Tel Aviv with a mission to evacuate Polish tourists.
The Boeing 737 was expected back in Warsaw by 6 p.m. on Monday, according to IAR.
As of Monday afternoon, some 2,000 Poles were awaiting evacuation from war-torn Israel, according to officials.
The war in Israel erupted on Saturday when the Palestinian organisation Hamas breached the border from Gaza in an unprecedented surprise attack, according to news outlets.
Israel on Monday ordered a „complete siege” of the Gaza Strip and the cutting off of food, fuel, electricity and water supplies, British broadcaster BBC reported.
The shock attacks by Hamas left hundreds of civilians dead and rocket strikes from Gaza against Israel continued on Monday, including on Jerusalem, according to the BBC.
More than 700 people have been killed in Israel, including 260 people shot dead by Hamas gunmen at a music festival, according to officials.
Israel launched air strikes on Gaza and formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday, news outlets reported.
So far, more than 500 people have died in Gaza since Israel began its strikes, the BBC reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, BBC
