Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said his ministry is in constant touch with 15 Hungarian citizens stranded in the Gaza Strip, and efforts are underway to bring them to safety as part of an international agreement.
Speaking at the press conference in Luxembourg on Monday, Minister Szijjártó said parents and children were among the stranded. According to a ministry statement, he noted that international cooperation was underway to evacuate people, “though for us, clearly what’s most important is that the 15 Hungarians who... want to leave Gaza can do so.” The minister said that people attempting to leave Gaza via the Rafah border crossing towards Egypt must pass through three checkpoints, “and they had managed to pass through two when they were turned back for security reasons”. Minister Szijjártó said he had spoken with his Egyptian counterpart, and permission had been granted for them to enter Egypt, but “they didn’t reach the point where this would have been physically possible,” he said, adding that this had taken place “more than ten days ago, so I don’t think I’ve endangered anyone by talking about this now.”