Poland summons Israeli, Egyptian, Palestinian envoys as civilians trapped in Gaza
Wesprzyj naszą pracę na Go Fund Me. Dziękujemy!Poland’s government has summoned the Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian ambassadors for talks on Monday in an effort to ensure that Polish citizens are evacuated from the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Photo:PAP/Albert Zawada
The three envoys have been asked to appear at the foreign ministry in Warsaw during the day, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński told private broadcaster RMF FM: “The Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian ambassadors have been urgently invited to the foreign ministry.”
He added the Polish government would “strive to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians, particularly our citizens,” from Gaza.
Jabłoński said that 29 Polish citizens, and two more people who are family members, were currently staying in the Gaza Strip.
“Our mission in Rafallah is in constant touch with them, and the embassies in Cairo and Tel Aviv are also involved,” he told RMF FM.
The Polish deputy foreign minister said in the interview that there were around 6,000 third-country citizens currently staying in Gaza.
He noted that the evacuation effort was launched on November 1, “after lengthy preparations,” but was suspended on November 4, “due to obstruction from Hamas.”
Alex Dancyg, a Warsaw-born Israeli historian and advocate of Polish-Israeli cooperation, who also has Polish citizenship, is believed to be among the more than 200 people who have been kidnapped by Hamas, the PAP news agency reported.
Jabłoński said: “Poland demands an immediate release of our citizen, as well as all the other hostages.”
He added that the issue would be discussed at the meeting with the Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian ambassadors later in the day.
The war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7 when the Palestinian militant group launched an attack from Gaza that killed over 1,400 people, British broadcaster BBC reported.
Some 240 Israelis were kidnapped as hostages, according to PAP.
Israel has since been bombing Gaza, killing more than 9,700 people, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
A ground offensive by Israel has cut the Gaza Strip in two, reaching the Mediterranean coast and completing the encirclement of Gaza City, military officials in Tel Aviv said on Sunday night, according to the BBC.
(pm/gs)
Wesprzyj naszą pracę na Go Fund Me. Dziękujemy!
