"In light of the information received from the Israeli and Egyptian partners regarding a temporary suspension of evacuations for foreigners from the Gaza Strip, the departure of Polish citizens is currently impossible," the Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
The Ministry "emphasises with outrage that each day Polish citizens spend in the Gaza Strip poses a significant risk to their lives and results in suffering, particularly for children," the statement read.
"In our assessment, no circumstances justify the fact that Poles who have been in Gaza for three weeks cannot leave, even though the Polish authorities are awaiting their reception on the Egyptian side," the Ministry wrote.
The Ministry stressed that through its embassies in Tel Aviv and Cairo, as well as its office in Ramallah, it had maintained regular and close contact with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities since the outbreak of the conflict, making every effort to enable Polish citizens in Gaza to be safely and quickly evacuated.
The Ministry assured that their diplomats remain in continuous contact with Poles stuck in Gaza.
The AFP news agency, citing an unnamed official from the Hamas administration, reported that Hamas had suspended the evacuation of foreigners and individuals with dual citizenship to Egypt on Saturday, according to PAP.
This decision was made after Israel refused to allow injured Palestinians to travel to Egyptian hospitals.
Currently, there are 28 Polish citizens in the Gaza Strip, along with three family members, as they are part of mixed families, according to media reports.
Poland’s deputy foreign minister Pawel Jabłoński earlier said that attempts to evacuate Polish citizens from Gaza are being hindered by both sides in the conflict.
Israel is "invoking war conditions" as a reason why it is difficult to get people out while Hamas is "hindering evacuation because it wants to keep people in the controlled areas", Jabłoński noted.
Hundreds of Polish citizens were successfully evacuated from Israel in the first days following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
(mo)
Source: PAP
