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Poland to use two planes to evacuate citizens from Israel, says foreign ministry

17.06.2025 13:33
Poland’s foreign ministry announced on Tuesday, June 17, that two aircraft will be used to evacuate its citizens from Israel, with the operation expected to conclude by Thursday amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said on Tuesday that two aircraft should be sufficient to complete the evacuation of Polish citizens from Israel, as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate.
Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said on Tuesday that two aircraft should be sufficient to complete the evacuation of Polish citizens from Israel, as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate.Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz; ABIR SULTAN/PAP/EPA

At a press briefing in Warsaw, Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Mościcka-Dendys confirmed that around 400 people are expected to be repatriated by Thursday.

One of the planes will depart from Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt early Wednesday, while the second will fly out of Amman, Jordan, on Thursday following a morning convoy from Israel to the Jordanian border.

Mościcka-Dendys said that demand for evacuation has been lower than media reports suggested. As a result, the government has scaled back its initial plan to charter two large aircraft. One plane will be a military aircraft, with the operation coordinated alongside Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command.

“The entire procedure is well prepared. We remain in close contact with military commanders and are ready to adjust if necessary,” she said, noting that the second flight will likely be military-operated.

Additional evacuations from Iran

The deputy foreign minister also confirmed that non-essential diplomatic staff from Poland’s embassy in Tehran will be relocated to the Azerbaijani border and are expected to leave Iran via Baku. Six other Polish nationals will join the convoy.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Paweł Wroński added that some citizens had already left Iran independently through border crossings into Armenia and Turkey. “We’re grateful to them, as several passed on key information to our consular staff that may assist others still in the region,” he said.

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Source: PR24/IAR/PAP/MSZ