The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the National Security Bureau (BBN) have announced that 18 individuals bearing Polish passports have made their way from the Gaza Strip to Egypt. In total, 29 people are on the list to leave. Those who are still on the Palestinian side are expected to be near the Rafah crossing.

The evacuation of Poles from the combat zone was due to take place on Sunday 12 November. „Several minors and one pregnant woman have left the Gaza Strip, they are under the protection of consular services and are safe”, said Jacek Siewiera, head of the BBN. The operation to evacuate people with Polish citizenship has been underway since Thursday.

‘The planes that flew out of Poland at night to pick up Polish citizens evacuated from Gaza have already arrived in Egypt’, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs  on Monday 1 November.

The General Staff of the Polish Army reported on Monday morning that “two Polish C-130 Hercules aircraft landed in Egypt a few dozen minutes before. Involved in the implementation of Operation NEON-E, the task force of PKW Egypt includes soldiers of the air force, special forces, and military medical personnel.

‘Along with the Polish Army soldiers, there are also representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the BBN. The humanitarian aid is currently being unloaded and handed over to the Egyptian side. A return flight with the evacuees to Poland is planned in the coming hours’, the General Staff reported.

The evacuation of foreigners and Palestinians with foreign passports from the Gaza Strip has been ongoing for several days. A total of around 7,000 people are to leave the Palestinian enclave. So far, several hundred people, mainly holding US passports, have managed to do so.

More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, which have been ongoing for more than a month. The operation is a retaliation for the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, when 1,400 people were killed.

Adrian Andrzejewski