Seven Bosnian citizens still unable to leave the Gaza Strip and come to Bosnia and Herzegovina

(Patria) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced that the evacuation of BiH citizens from the Gaza Strip is carried out with Israel's approval.

"There are currently seven BiH citizens and/or their relatives in the Gaza Strip whose evacuation is being contested – not allowed by the Israeli authorities.

The BiH Ambassador in Tel Aviv communicates daily on this matter with the competent authorities in Israel, and continuous efforts are being made to relocate these individuals to safety.

We also note that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH established a Crisis Staff at the very beginning of the crisis in the Gaza Strip in 2023, which is in permanent session with the aim of evacuating BiH citizens and their relatives. As is known, we managed to evacuate most of our citizens and relatives from Gaza much earlier than some countries with significantly greater resources and influence, N1 reports.

Such success is not a coincidence, but the result of intensive work by our diplomats at headquarters and the wider diplomatic-consular network, which will continue. This primarily refers to our embassies in Tel Aviv, Doha, and Cairo, which are intensively undertaking all activities within the competence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH to help our citizens in endangered areas," they stated.

We recall that four BiH citizens from Gaza have been in Cairo for two months. Since then, there has been no approval for their arrival in Sarajevo. The Ministry of Security of BiH, headed by Nenad Nešić, gave the green light for the arrival of three individuals, but not for one man.

"The arrival of individuals from Cairo is expected in the next few days, as the last administrative issues are being finalized. For one family member, it was necessary to issue a humanitarian visa, which was preceded by a security check by the SPS and OSA BiH. That part of the work has been completed, and the humanitarian visa will be issued, while the rest of the family will enter in accordance with the Decision of the Council of Ministers of BiH," stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH.

From the BiH Embassy in Cairo, during the period when the evacuation began, it was confirmed that 12 individuals were on the so-called "red list." These individuals have not yet received approval to cross the border crossing. In addition, several other individuals were waiting to leave the Gaza Strip. The BiH Ambassador to Qatar, Semir Halilović, confirmed to N1 that there were 14 individuals.