Government working on the release of 2 more Hungarian hostages

Hungary is working for the release two possible Hungarian hostages, who are male, in addition to those already let go from the Gaza Strip, once women and children are set free, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Monday in Brussels.

At the press conference after a meeting of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council, Szijjártó welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which had afforded the release of hostages and saved lives.

Hamas has made it clear that only women and children would be released for now, and three of five abducted Hungarian citizens have been set free accordingly, he said.

Szijjártó noted the “multiple times” he had spoken with his Qatar counterpart, who had assured him of his assistance and had provided constant updates on the state of the negotiations. Hungary, he added, was grateful.

Though Budapest knew the names of the Hungarian hostages on the list, “we didn’t make this public as doing so would have jeopardised the success of the operation…” he said.