More Hungarians to be evacuated from Israel

Hungary’s government is launching another operation to evacuate Hungarian citizens stranded in Israel, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Tbilisi on Wednesday, adding that the authorities were in contact with all 220 people who have registered for consular protection.

The security situation in the Middle Eastern country continues to deteriorate, with more and more airlines cancelling their flights from Tel Aviv airport due to missile strikes, Szijjártó said. Despite this, the consuls at the scene have managed to get three more Hungarian citizens home this afternoon, he added.

The government is in contact with a total of 220 people stuck in Israel and aims to help all of them get home, the minister said.

“We would like it if they could come home as soon as possible,” Szijjártó said. “We’re working to ensure a safe return for everyone. Several evacuation operations are being planned along multiple routes.”

The Hungarian consuls and the entire embassy staff are working round the clock, but they are hindered by having to constantly move to bomb shelters whenever there is an air raid alert, Szijjártó said. This has happened multiple times today, and the phone line and internet connection isn’t always perfect, either, he added.

Szijjártó noted that departures from Israel by land were possible in the directions of Egypt and Jordan during limited parts of the day, and leaving by sea was also an option.

Hungarians still in Israel who have registered for consular protection will soon be notified of the next evacuation, the minister said, urging them not to delay their decision to leave the way multiple tourist groups did earlier in the week. He also warned against making the details of the evacuation public.

Ambassador: Israel aims to neutralise Hamas, rescue hostages

Israel is aiming to neutralise the Hamas organisation and rescue the hostages it has taken as soon as possible, the Israeli ambassador to Hungary told the Hungarian press on Wednesday.

Yakov Hadas-Handelsman said Hamas had killed at least 1,200 civilians, including Israeli Arabs, in the recent attacks. He said the attacks served Iran’s interests, adding that Iran and Hamas had been concerned about the United States consolidating its relations with Saudi Arabia, while Hamas could also time its attacks with regard to political divisions within Israel.

The ambassador also suggested that the Hezbollah organisation controlling southern Lebanon could be preparing to open a front in northern Israel. Hamas and Iran aim to involve Palestinians in the West Bank in their war against Israel, Hadas-Handelsman said, but insisted that ties between Israel and the Arab world were going in the right direction and Arab countries could less and less be divided by way of such conflicts. A large part of those countries are dissatisfied with divisions between Palestinians and their inability to make political compromises, he added.

Hadas-Handelsman highlighted the importance of the political assistance to Israel by the United States and European countries.

Source: MTI