2024-09-24 14:11 update: 2024-09-26, 19:02
Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak
Polish soldiers stationed in Lebanon as part of a UN peace-keeping mission have been put in a state of higher readiness following the escalation of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Polish Minister of Defence Wladysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has said in a TV interview.
The Polsat News television channel asked Kosiniak-Kamysz on Monday evening about the situation of Polish UN peace-keeping troops in the Middle East in the context of the intensifying Israeli air strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Kosiniak-Kamysz told the journalist that the Polish military contingent in Lebanon, currently consisting of 250 soldiers, had been put on high alert. "This is a very dangerous mission, involving multiple countries," he said. Every decision must be made in communication with the allies, however "safety, the soldiers, and the mission always come first," he said. Kosiniak-Kamysz also did not exclude the possibility of evacuating Polish troops in extreme emergency, saying that "we are considering every scenario."
Israel intensified its air strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Monday, in an escalation of conflict with the armed militia and political party supported by Iran, killing at least 356 people and wounding 1246, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, there were two series of exploding device attacks against Hezbollah members, killing at least 39 people and leaving around 3,000 wounded. Israel has not commented on the operation, but according to Western media, it bears responsibility for the attack. Hezbollah has vowed revenge on Israel. (PAP)
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