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Poland and Czechia announced the evacuation of their citizens from Israel as tensions with Iran continue to escalate.
After Israel attacked Iranian nuclear and military facilities on Friday, June 13, the two countries have engaged in continuous missile and drone strikes. At least 14 people in Israel and 224 in Iran have been killed in airstrikes, as of Sunday evening, according to their respective authorities.
The Polish Foreign Ministry announced it would evacuate about 200 citizens by bus to Jordan, where they would fly to Warsaw.
“We estimate that we will be ready within several dozen hours. The evacuation will concern tourists and Poles who are staying in Israel for a short period of time,” Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Mościcka-Dendys told reporters on Monday.
The Czech Foreign Ministry also announced that citizens interested in repatriation must report to the embassy in Tel Aviv.
According to Czech media, 70 citizens have already set off for a neighboring country where they will then fly home. Czechia’s ambassador to Israel, Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová, declined to name the country they will fly from, citing security reasons.
She said the first flight will be mainly for women and children, while other evacuation flights may take place in the future. Other Czech citizens were leaving independently.
Meanwhile, Israeli airspace remains closed.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Friday that “the Zionist regime has prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself.” After Iran’s retaliatory strikes, Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, warned that “Tehran will burn” if it continues its attacks.
European leaders called for “restraint” and diplomatic resolution to the conflict, but Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. on Sunday pushed back against calls for peace, saying: “The objective is not to contain the war. The objective is to win the war.”
This article has been updated.
