The foreign minister said six more Hungarian citizens — four children and their two Palestinian family members — have left the Gaza Strip, leaving only one Hungarian citizen in the area, who decided to stay.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the security situation in the Middle East remains desperate. He noted that in recent weeks the ministry has been in contact with 15 Hungarian citizens who had been stuck in Gaza without the possibility of getting out. Two weeks ago, foreign nationals were given the chance to leave the area, Szijjártó said, noting that he had spoken with his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts who had assured him that the Hungarians in question could leave Gaza via the Rafah border crossing towards Egypt. Not long after this, eight Hungarian citizens and their Palestinian relatives were able to leave, while seven people stayed in view of the security risks, the minister said, noting that several of the Hungarians had since been injured. Szijjártó welcomed that on Wednesday evening, six more Hungarian citizens were able to cross into Egypt, where staff members of the Hungarian embassy in Cairo had been waiting for them. Staff at the embassy will handle the necessary paperwork, and they will be able to return to Hungary with a scheduled flight this week, he added. Meanwhile, Szijjártó said one Hungarian citizen had decided to stay in Gaza. “This individual, too, would have had the chance to reach the Rafah border crossing and enter Egypt, but … decided to stay,” the minister said. “We will, of course, remain in contact with this person.”