Two military aircraft that left Poland on Sunday night to evacuate Polish citizens from Gaza, have arrived in Egypt, the Foreign Ministry announced on Monday morning.

A senior security official said on Sunday that of 25 Polish citizens that had been stranded in the Gaza Strip, 18 had crossed into Egypt and were awaiting evacuation. One Pole, Alex Danzig, is reportedly being held hostage by Hamas.

“There is a confirmed report that 18 Polish citizens, including minors, have been already evacuated from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing,” Jacek Siewiera, head of the National Security Bureau (BBN), told the Polsat News private television programme on Sunday. “They have already arrived in Egypt and have been under Polish consular services’ care.

“We are waiting for other persons to arrive through the Rafah crossing. Conditions are very difficult,” he added.

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

The two C-130 Hercules planes left Poland on Sunday carrying a task force including Air Force, special forces and military medical personnel.

“The planes that flew at night from Poland for a group of Polish citizens evacuated from the Gaza Strip are now in Egypt,” the foreign ministry posted on X. “On board is Polish aid which will be transferred to Egyptian hospitals for the wounded from the Gaza Strip.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski also commented on the evacuation effort on Monday.

“We are evacuating our compatriots from the Gaza Strip, and Polish humanitarian aid is being flown to the site,” he wrote on X. “Solidarity is the foundation of our international policy.”