Radek Pietruszka/PAP

President Andrzej Duda has decided to use the Polish Military Contingent in Egypt to help in the evacuation of Polish citizens entrapped in the Gaza Strip.

About 30 Poles have been stranded in Gaza after Israel launched a massive air and land assault on Palestine in response to Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7.

Poland is awaiting approval from Israel to facilitate the evacuation of its citizens from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah land crossing situated along the border with Egypt.

“During the period from November 10 to November 19, 2023, the Polish Military Contingent (PKW) in the Arab Republic of Egypt will be deployed in the evacuation operations of citizens of the Republic of Poland residing in the Gaza Strip,” Duda announced on Thursday in an official publication in Monitor Polski journal.

The PKW will consist of up to 150 soldiers with equipment, including two C-130 transport aircraft and one C-295 aircraft, the statement said.

The unit’s job will be to move the Polish citizens from Egypt to Poland, seeing as the border crossing in Rafah has recently reopened.

According to the document, the unit will be able to operate “in case the need arises, to protect the citizens’ lives or health.”