Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in Zurich on Wednesday that three of the five Hungarian hostages taken by Hamas are among those who could be released as part of a temporary ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Minister Szijjártó said the Hamas terrorist organization is holding five people with Hungarian citizenship hostage, according to a ministry statement, noting that the government had done everything possible for their release. Hungary is in constant contact with the Israeli task force set up to free the hostages as well as Qatar’s leadership which has been a key mediator, the minister said. Szijjártó said he had consulted with his Qatari counterpart on Wednesday and thanked him for his role in securing the ceasefire that has made the hostage deal possible. He said he had asked the Qatari foreign minister for the Gulf country to keep doing everything possible to secure the release of the Hungarian hostages, which he said the minister had assured him they would do. Minister Szijjártó welcomed the temporary ceasefire agreement, expressing hope that it could lead to other deals that could allow all of the hostages to be freed. “It’s been made clear in the news which group of hostages can expect to go free,” Minister Szijjártó said. “In this respect, there are three hostages with Hungarian citizenship who fit into the category that has been made public. We sincerely hope that preferably all three will be among those who are released.” He added that there was no information available on this for the time being. The minister said the Israeli authorities had yet to inform either the Hungarian government or the relatives of the hostages. “Until all five hostages with Hungarian citizenship are safe, Hungary will demand that Hamas release the hostages and that the international community stand against Hamas and make it clear that all hostages must be released,” he said.