Poland and Czechia launched emergency evacuations of their citizens from Israel as hostilities with Iran intensify following reciprocal airstrikes, according to Politico.
The Polish Foreign Ministry confirmed plans to transport approximately 200 nationals by bus to Jordan, from where they will fly to Warsaw. Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Mościcka-Dendys stated:
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.
Concurrently, the Czech government has directed citizens seeking repatriation to register at their Tel Aviv embassy. Ambassador Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová indicated that 70 Czechs had already departed for an undisclosed neighbouring country, with priority given to women and children on initial flights.
The evacuations follow three days of sustained missile and drone exchanges between Israel and Iran. Israeli strikes on 13 June targeted Iranian nuclear and military facilities, killing 224 people in Iran according to Iranian authorities, while Iranian retaliatory attacks claimed 14 lives in Israel as of Sunday.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared that Israel “has prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself,” while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz countered that “Tehran will burn” if assaults persist.
European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have uniformly appealed for de-escalation and diplomatic solutions. However, Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, explicitly rejected such appeals, asserting:
The objective is not to contain the war. The objective is to win the war.
This stance underscores a deepening divide between Israel and its European allies, particularly after the UK revealed it was excluded from pre-strike coordination despite prior collaboration.
With Israeli airspace remaining closed and civilian infrastructure sustaining damage in both nations, Poland and Czechia join Russia in urging citizens to depart immediately. The evacuations highlight growing international concern that the conflict could broaden, particularly after Iran threatened to target countries defending Israel.
