Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau talked with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen about the military operation in the Gaza Strip. – We took the opportunity to discuss the situation of imprisoned Polish families – said the minister. There are still about 30 Poles in the Gaza Strip.
“I had a telephone conversation with Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen about the progress of the Israeli military operation in Gaza in response to the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas,” the head of Polish diplomacy wrote on social media on Tuesday evening.
“We discussed the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip in connection with my participation in the Thursday conference in Paris. Since Israel will not participate in it, I wanted to know Minister Cohen’s point of view on this matter,” said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We also took the opportunity to discuss the situation of Polish families trapped in Gaza. I am grateful to the minister for his personal commitment to organizing aid for our citizens. The situation of the civilian population must be of particular concern to democratic governments. Poland and Israel will pursue the path of cooperation on this issue” – added the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs.
MFA: About 30 Poles are still in the Gaza Strip
On Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Paweł Jabłoński said on Radio ZET that Poland is waiting for a formal decision from Israel so that Polish citizens can leave the Gaza Strip. He noted that the evacuation list was sent by the Polish side almost a month ago. He assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is constantly in contact with Poles in the Gaza Strip through the consular and diplomatic service.
He recalled that on Monday, urgently, at the headquarters Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs interviews were held with ambassadors Egypt, Israel and Palestine, and their subject was the issue of resuming the operation of the border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in Rafah and enabling the evacuation of Polish citizens through this route. On Monday, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that about 5-6 thousand third-country nationals remain in the Gaza Strip, including about 30 Poles.
On Monday afternoon, border authorities in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip said the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt was reopened only to evacuate Egyptians, foreigners and dual nationals. They emphasized that, in accordance with the decision of the Egyptian authorities, people who were not included on a special list would not be able to cross the border.
The evacuation of foreigners through the Rafah crossing began on Wednesday, November 1. Hamas suspended her on Saturday after Israel refused to allow injured Palestinians to go to Egyptian hospitals. The AFP agency reported that the reopening of the crossing took place after Israel agreed, thanks to Egyptian mediation, to the passage of 30 injured people to Egypt.
Main photo source: MOHAMMED SABER/PAP/EPA