war

President Novák: Russia cannot win

wef world economic forum novák

It is vitally important to avoid a third world war and prevent the escalation of the war in Ukraine, President Katalin Novák told a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday.

Answering a question by the chair of the panel entitled Defending Europe’s United Front, Novák argued in favour of the EU continuing to help Ukraine in order to prevent Russia from winning the war, and she said Hungary continued to support this aim.

Novák noted that neither NATO nor the EU were military participants in the war, and, she added, this must remain the case. “We mustn’t get involved militarily in the conflict,” she said, adding that it was vitally important to preserve peace and security.

Asked about Ukraine’s chances of winning the war and whether Ukraine’s victory was key to maintaining Europe’s security, Novák said: “Russia cannot win”.

Novák said Russia’s aggression must be condemned and it must be stated clearly which side was the aggressor and which one was being attacked.

“It is clear that Russia has crossed the Rubicon,” she said.

Russia’s aggression had a direct impact on Hungary due to its geographic location and in light of the ethnic Hungarian community living in western Ukraine, Novák said.

“War and aggression cannot be a solution,” she said. Hungary has signed up to the peace plan put forward by Ukraine, she noted, adding that work must be done to establish peace.

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The Hungarian military booms, strengthened greatly in the last year

Airbus H225M

The Hungarian military has had a year filled with developments. New additions have arrived into the arsenal and upgrades have been implemented.

It has been an eventful year for the Hungarian Defense Forces. The old Chief of Staff Major General Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi has been replaced by Major General Gábor Böröndi. Recruitment is in full swing, joint military exercises with several nations have taken place in Hungary and numerous new weapons have been introduced to the military. Let’s take a peek at the new weapons that arrived this year and how the current military arsenal is looking.

Air Defense

Hungary’s air defense has seen significant improvements this year, making up for more than 20 years of lag. Since the mass dismantling in 2010, the Hungarian airspace has not been properly protected. However, this fall marked a new level in the Hungarian ground-based air defense. The first two batteries arrived from the NASAMS, which is a Norwegian-American air defense missile system. It provides real and reliable protection against modern fighter jets, helicopters, drones, and cruise missiles.

Additionally, the defendable area is several times larger with NASAMS. This new air defense system has a network-based operation, advanced communication system, and exceptional hit accuracy, which completely elevates Hungarian air defense, vg.hu writes. The Gripens also received extra upgrades, namely extra missiles, which are also compatible with the NASAMS system.

Helicopters in the Air Force

New helicopters arrived at the Hungarian Defense Forces this year. The fleet got updated with the first four out of the 14 previously ordered Airbus H225Ms. Similar to the previously arrived models, some of the new additions will be equipped for fire support tasks. What’s more, two years ago, Hungary ordered the German IRIS-T, considered one of the world’s best short-range air-to-air missiles, for its fighter jets. To summarise, Hungarian air defense has modernised drastically in the previous period, and now fits the requirements of the 21st century threats that may arise.

Tanks

Leopard 2A7+

The first four Leopard 2A7+ arrived at the Tata armored brigade, out of the 44 that Hungary previously has ordered.
The Leopard 2A7+ is one of the world’s most modern tanks, but Hungary may acquire an even more effective weapon in the second half of the decade as Rheinmetall’s Zalaegerszeg plant participates in the development of the company’s newest tank, the Panther.

The first Lynx armored fighting vehicle was completed at the Zalaegerszeg plant, which has an annual production capacity of 50. The Hungarian Defense Forces ordered a total of 209 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles and the first 46 will come from Germany. This year also marked the completion of Hungary’s self-propelled howitzer fleet, which now consists of 24 PzH 2000s. The Hungarian artillery underwent a gigantic technological leap with these new weapons.

Industrial Growth

In addition to Rheinmetall’s investment in Zalaegerszeg, where they completed the building of the military plant there have been some other new investments. Such as a weapons factory being established in Győr, which will manufacture Gidrán 4X4 MRAPs. The Hungarian Defense Forces plan to deploy a total of 400-500 Gidrán vehicles in various configurations. Among them, the two most exciting types could be the mortar-equipped version and the artillery reconnaissance vehicle. There will likely be traditional troop carriers and gunners, command and casualty transport versions as well.

A domestically owned ammunition factory will be established based on the prestigious Italian Beretta license. It will produce NATO standard ammunition rounds, meeting the needs of modern machine guns and rifles deployed in the Hungarian Defense Forces.

All in all, there have been various minor and major developments through the year. It can be said that the above list includes only the most significant military developments. Based on all this, the arsenal of the Hungarian Defense Forces has grown significantly this year, and there has been no shortage of new announcements.

Read more about the first Hungarian to fly a plane HERE.

Read more about the ten richest Hungarians in 2023 HERE.

Hungarians are in danger due to others’ bad decisions, says defence minister

Szalay-Bobrovniczky minister hungary defence

Hungary’s defence minister said Hungary was living in an “era of dangers due to the bad decisions of others”, in a video posted on Facebook on Wednesday.

The year 2023 had brought wars, migration, the threat of terror and “explosive social tensions” to Europe, Kristóf Salay-Bobrovniczky said.

“Bad decisions such as endless weapon deliveries, encouraging and financing migration, and the tensions, security risks and terror threat brought on by immigration impact Hungary too,” he said.

While Hungary doesn’t participate in the war, it will prepare to strengthen its defence capabilities to protect its peace and security, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said. Besides building a “high-tech Armed Forces”, that includes developing the country’s military industry, he added.

“We will protect our sovereignty from those expecting us to hand over the decisions on the fate of Hungarians,” he said.

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Hungarian foreign minister meets Ukraine counterpart

Hungarian foreign minister meets Ukraine counterpart in Brussels

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who met Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels on Monday, said on Facebook that Hungary did not see its stance on Ukraine’s EU accession bid as a tactical issue.

Szijjártó said that whereas a meeting in person with Kuleba had not taken place since the outbreak of the war, they had kept in regular contact with the aim of improving Hungary-Ukraine ties.

Referring to the restriction of the rights of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine, Szijjártó said “this cast a shadow on bilateral relations”, adding that Hungary demanded the restoration of conditions pertaining in 2015.

He noted that Ukraine’s EU ambitions were discussed.

“For us this isn’t a tactical issue but a decision of historic proportions regarding the future of the entire European Union,” he said.

The minister said the European Commission had no clue what effect Ukraine’s EU membership would have on the bloc. ‘It’s enough to think back to the intractable problems the Commission’s decision on grain transit and Ukraine scrapping the licensing requirement for lorries,” he said.

Szijjártó added, moreover, that the Commission had not prepared the ground for ensuring that Ukraine pursued mutually beneficial accession talks.

As we wrote on Sunday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met and exchanged a few words at the inauguration ceremony of Javier Milei, Argentina’s new president, in Buenos Aires – video here

Hungary not to ‘give in to pressure’

The Hungarian government will “continue to make its decisions in line with European and national values” and “will not give in to pressure from anyone, whether in the form of bribery or pledges,” Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook on Monday.

Ahead of “historic meetings affecting Europe’s future” to be held in Brussels this week, Szijjártó said there were signs of “appalling political and media pressure”. “The European political and media elite obviously mixes up completely different dimensions trying to resolve historical and strategic issues through tactical deals,” he said, but added “they will not succeed, obviously, we will not give our consent.”

Debates between foreign ministers of the EU and in the general affairs council will focus on Ukraine, he said, adding that “a large part of EU politicians seek to pass decisions that are largely unprepared for and lack a strategic consensus.”

Speaking at a press conference after a meeting of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council, Szijjártó said was under “tremendous political and media pressure” to approve the start of EU accession talks with Ukraine “despite the situation not being suitable for this right now”.

According to a ministry statement, Szijjártó said the pressure on Hungary was “unacceptable”, and he vowed that the country would not give up its national interests or the right to make its own sovereign decisions.

“We don’t accept being pressured, and we’ll also resist any attempts at blackmail…” Szijjártó said. “And I’d like to make it clear that we continue to refuse to conflate historical-strategic and tactical dimensions.”

“This is not a tactical position on our part,” he said, arguing that the question of when Ukraine could begin accession talks would have “serious historic consequences, too”.

The minister said any decision in connection with Ukraine’s potential accession talks could only be made after a preparatory phase, adding however that the conditions for these preparations were not in place.

He said the European Commission’s assessment that Ukraine had met four of the seven pre-conditions for talks was incorrect.

Hungary, he said, supported looking at mutually beneficial ways to enhance cooperation with Ukraine, adding that EU membership was not the only option. Deciding on starting accession talks now would be “irresponsible”, Szijjártó said, arguing that it was impossible to know the effects of such a decision.

He cited the effects of the EU’s resolutions on opening transit corridors for Ukrainian grain and exempting Ukrainian hauliers from seeking permits before entering bloc, saying the EU “could not salvage what was salvageable”.

Meanwhile, he said the Hungarian government had still not approved allocating an additional 500 million euros from the European Peace Facility for weapons deliveries to Ukraine, arguing that Kyiv’s list of international war sponsors still contained Hungarian entities and individuals, mainly linked to OTP Bank.

Asked to comment on Ukraine’s amended law on minorities, Szijjártó said Hungary and Transcarpathian ethnic Hungarian organisations would assess the legislation, adding it was already clear that it had failed not restore the rights minorities had been gradually stripped of since 2015.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó said that on Monday afternoon, he will meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, and Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for Euro-Atlantic integration.

Also interesting: What will Putin say? Hungary manufactures combat vehicles for Ukraine

FM Szijjártó: Hungary to contribute to bolstering UN peacekeeping work

szijjártó united nations

Hungary is prepared to contribute to bolstering the United Nations’ peacekeeping capacities, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Accra on Wednesday, adding that bringing more and more armed conflicts under control would reduce the risk of a third world war.

In his address, Szijjártó said global security was in its worst shape since the end of the Cold War, arguing that there were more than 30 serious armed conflicts going on in the world, and the threat of terrorism was at an all-time high.

Europe was no exception, he said, noting the ongoing war on the continent and the conflict in the Middle East.

Szijjártó also warned of the threat of instability in the Sahel region and the danger of this triggering more mass migration waves towards Europe, which posed another security challenge.

“So therefore . it is the core security interest of Hungary, of Europe, and, I do believe, that of the global community to end the most possible armed conflicts in the world,” the minister said.

Hungary, he said, argued in favour of ceasefires and direct negotiations between opposing sides in the interest of ensuring the safety of the people living in conflict zones.

Szijjártó said the UN should step up its peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts.

He noted that the organisation had not been established “as a group of like-minded countries”, but as a platform to offer the possibility of dialogue even among those hostile towards each other.

Hungary, he said, supported the UN in fulfilling this original goal of the organisation.

Szijjártó said that without greater UN peacekeeping capacities, several armed conflicts could spiral out of control, and the more that happened, the greater the risk of a third world war would become.

The minister noted that Hungarian troops and police officers were also serving in UN peacekeeping missions, adding that the government was prepared to contribute to enhancing the efficiency of the organisation’s peacekeeping capacities.

Hungary is supporting the development of technologies used in peacekeeping operations with 110,000 dollars, Szijjártó said. It is also prepared to offer its airlift capabilities with a view to improving the mobility of peacekeeping missions and is prepared to host peacekeepers in military training programmes, he said.

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Hungarian FM: Sovereignty of foreign policy must be maintained

szijjártó east west cooperation

Europe is facing some serious security challenges, and in order to manage the situation effectively, the sovereignty of foreign policy must be maintained, the foreign minister said on Monday.

Péter Szijjártó said during a hearing by parliament’s foreign affairs committee that national interests must be enforced in the face of all foreign attempts at pressurising Hungary.

Europe is in the worst security situation since the end of the Cold War, with wars under way on the continent and in its direct vicinity, adding to a migration crisis that started eight years ago, he said.

“Hungary’s foreign policy strategy must be enforced successfully in this security context. We have not given up any of its sovereignty in the past and we will refuse to give up any of it also in the future,” he added.

Among the security challenges he firstly cited the armed conflict in Ukraine, stating that Europe’s strategy had failed, “Russia could not be brought to its knee and we are not getting any closer to peace” while the measures introduced have harmed the member states’ competitiveness.

He welcomed the majority of NATO states “demonstrating a responsible behaviour” by maintaining the decision that all efforts must be made to avoid direct confrontation with Russia which could carry the risk of a third world war.

He said the reform proposals submitted to Kyiv included demonstrating respect for national minority rights, which has been initiated by Hungary. All promises made by the Ukrainian government to this effect have proven empty so far despite Hungary clealy expecting the restoration of the pre-2015 situation in terms of national minority rights, he added.

Commenting on the situation in the Middle East, he said “the brutal attacks made against Israel resulted in a counter-terrorism offensive whose success is in everyone’s interest in the world”.

A war between states must be prevented because it would have unforeseable consequences, and “the international community must act responsibly in order to maintain hope for a return to the spirit of the Abraham Accords”, he added.

He cited the protection of civilian lives as an important Hungarian concern, stating that maintaining the stability of Egypt is crucial for European security.

He said that Hungarians were successfully evacuated from Israel at the start of the conflict and fourteen of the fifteen Hungarians who were in Gaza have also been evacuated. The only person who stayed wanted to do so, he added.

Of five Hungarians taken hostage by Hamas, three have been released and the government is working to have the remaining two released, he said.

Commenting on migration, he said some 275,000 illegal border crossing attempts had been prevented at Hungary’s souther border last year and over 200,000 this year.

“We continue to resist the pressure by Brussels to get migrants distributed on the basis of some sort of quota in Europe,” he said.

He added that the increasing threat of terrorism, the development of parallel societes and the growing number of gang wars in Europe were “the direct consequences of the EU’s migrant policy”.

Migration and terrorism form a vicious circle and the Hungarian government therefore supported all counter-terrorism action around the world, he said. Hungary contributes to such activities in line with its resources, for instance by sending Hungarian soldiers to Chad next year, he added.

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Hungarian-Israeli girls excluded from Hamas hostage release

Maayan Zin

A ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will come into effect on Friday morning and will be followed by the release of 13 hostages in the afternoon. Despite growing optimism surrounding the hostage release in Gaza, a despairing piece of information has surfaced.

Hungarian hostages among those potentially released

As we wrote earlier, there had been an update on the situation involving the Hungarian hostages held by Hamas. In Zürich, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced that three out of the five captives might be among the initial group released as part of a temporary ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The details emerged on Wednesday, raising hopes for the safe return of some hostages amidst the conflict.

However, hope is fading because of a revelation, HVG reports. Maayan Zin, the mother of the Hungarian-Israeli dual-citizen girls (Ela and Dafna) has recently shared a post on X. She stated that her daughters are not included in the list of 13 Israeli hostages set to be released on Friday. This disclosure leaves the fate of the girls uncertain as the ceasefire comes into effect.

I’ve been informed that Dafna and Ela are not on the list of the 13 hostages to be released tomorrow. This is incredibly difficult for me; I long for their return. I’m relieved for the other families and hopeful for the release of all the hostages.

she wrote.

Maayan Zin, expressed the tremendous difficulty she is facing while awaiting the return of her daughters. Despite her personal challenges, she also shared a sense of relief for the families of the hostages. Additionally, she expressed hope for the eventual freedom of all those held captive by Hamas.

Terms of the truce deal and release plans

In late October, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that Hamas gunmen kidnapped two Hungarian-Israeli children, Ela (8) and Dafna (15). It occurred during an unexpected incursion into Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October. Tragically, the abductors murdered the girls’ father on the spot. Since then, Hamas has held them hostage, adding a tragic dimension to the ongoing conflict.

The ceasefire in Gaza is scheduled to commence on Friday morning, 22 November. Hamas has committed to releasing the first batch of hostages at 4 p.m. on the same day, with the Red Cross facilitating the transfer of the released hostages. The initial release involves 13 hostages, with Hamas agreeing to release a total of 50 Israeli hostages over the course of the four-day truce.

As we know from the information of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Hamas is holding a total of five individuals with Hungarian citizenship hostage. Although Minister Szijjártó had previously expressed hope for the release of three Hungarian hostages, he also acknowledged the absence of guarantees. The unfolding situation underscores the complexity and challenges involved in negotiating the release of hostages amidst the ongoing conflict in the region. The fate of the Hungarian hostages remains uncertain, adding to the heightened emotions surrounding the ceasefire agreement. You can find our articles of the Israeli-Palestinian war HERE.

Hamas could releases three Hungarian hostages

Hamas Hungarian captives

Three of the five Hungarian hostages taken by Hamas are among those who could be released as part of a temporary ceasefire agreement on Gaza, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Zürich on Wednesday.

The Hamas terrorist organisation is holding five people with Hungarian citizenship hostage, Szijjarto said, 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.

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,” 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.

Read also:

  • Hungarian government demands release of Hamas’s Hungarian hostages – Read more HERE
  • Hungarian police do not allow a demonstration in support of Hamas in Budapest

Hungarian DefMin opens Adaptive Hussars 23 exercise

Hungarian Defence Forces

Hungary’s government sees the security of Hungarians and preserving peace as its priority, the defence minister said in Hódmezővásárhely on Tuesday, at the opening event of the Adaptive Hussars 23 international military exercise held in the presence of President Katalin Novák.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said Hungary was building a military capable of facing all security challenges in close cooperation with its allies.

In the current “era of dangers”, Europe faces war, illegal migration and the threat of terrorism, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said. The national security service has warned of the possibility of “trained soldiers of terrorist organisations, and with them the threat of terrorism, at the borders of Hungary,” he said.

At the same time, the Armed Forces and defence industry are thriving, with new factories, successful recruitment, and performance showing “the Armed Forces have reached a new level”, he said.

Adaptive Hussars 23, a complex international exercise with participants from Italy, Turkiye, Croatia and the US, is taking place in several parts of the country, involving much of the Armed Forces and public administration, he said. The exercise is about testing and developing the country’s defence capabilities, he said.

The initial phase involves some 1,000 troops, 340 of whom are foreign and 170 Hungarian.

Besides Hungarian and foreign military units deployed to Hungary, the exercise involves some 4,500 members of Hungarian public administration, he said.

Adaptive Hussars 23 is the largest exercise of the Hungarian Armed Forces this year, “a test of everything we have built and created so far. We will see where we stand and what and how we should bolster further,” he said.

The exercise will improve cooperation between various branches of public administration and soldiers, while public servants will have a better knowledge of how to help each other in joint tasks, he said.

In military life “we must always hope for the best but prepare for the worst. We must be ready to do what needs to be done for our family, our localities and the country…” Szalay-Bobrovniczky said.

FM Szijjártó: Third world war closer than ever

Minister sanctions impacted the European economy badly

Unless the international community is able to resolve today’s security challenges, humanity could find itself closer than ever before to a third world war, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Astana on Wednesday.

Szijjártó said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will hold talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov on Thursday ahead of the next summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).

According to a ministry statement, Szijjártó called for seeking the possibility of peaceful resolutions.

“If the global community cannot find peaceful resolutions to at least one or two of the current security challenges within the coming, relatively short period, then it wouldn’t be completely unrealistic to expect that we will find ourselves closer than ever to the outbreak of a third world war,” he said.

Hungary’s interests lie in peace, he said, adding that this was the reason why the government considered it important to take part in the work of the OTS, as the Turkic states “always stand by peaceful settlements and reducing the risk of escalation”.

Szijjártó noted that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been the only politician so far to have successfully mediated between Ukraine and Russia by negotiating the Black Sea grain export deal, adding, however, that this situation “has also, regrettably, deteriorated”.

Hungary, therefore, has an interest in an urgent peaceful settlement in Ukraine and the prevention of an interstate war in the Middle East, he said.

As regards Hungarian-Kazakh relations, Szijjártó noted the progress made in energy cooperation this year, calling it the “best possible demonstration” of the two countries’ strategic partnership.

He said Thursday’s scheduled inauguration of a street in Astana named after 19th century Hungarian poet Sándor Petőfi was a gesture that represented the importance Kazakhstan attached to its cooperation with Hungary.

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Possible Hungarian victim of Hamas terror attack?

EU money terror Israel Palestine

Another Hungarian-Israeli family experienced the consequences of the Hamas terrorist attack on an Israeli kibbutz in early October. According to a relative, a member of this family is believed to be a victim of the attack.

Hungarian-Israelis affected by the Hamas attack

As we reported a few days earlier, it has been confirmed that Hamas has taken Hungarian-Israeli children hostage. The Foreign Ministry acknowledged last week that it was aware of a total of four Hungarian hostages. However, according to recent reports in Hetek, another Hungarian-Israeli teenage girl is also being held hostage by Hamas.

Growing concern

Reports indicated that during the attack, the teenage girl and her mother were forcibly taken to Gaza by Hamas jihadists. Unfortunately, no news has surfaced regarding the father, also a Hungarian-Israeli, who is currently reported as missing.

Hungarian-Israeli victim

Osnat Weiss, a Hungarian-Israeli, chose to share his family’s traumatic experience. He revealed that several family members resided in the Be’eri kibbutz, the very village where terrorists carried out a brutal massacre. Osnat’s brother, Ilan, remains missing since the attack, while his wife (Shiri) and 18-year-old daughter (Noga) were taken hostage by Hamas jihadists in Gaza. The parents’ other two older daughters, however, were rescued safely from the kibbutz and found refuge in another apartment, as reported by atv.hu.

Osnat also disclosed that his other brother, Amir, who also held Hungarian citizenship, tragically lost his life along with his wife during the attack. So according to Hetek, there is a Hungarian victim of the Hamas terror attack. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet confirmed the news.

Minister: Government unaware of Hungarian fatalities in Israel

Hungary’s government remains unaware of any Hungarian citizens having died in Israel, and reports of Hungarian fatalities in the Middle Eastern country have proven to be untrue, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday. The government knows of five hostages with Hungarian citizenship in Gaza, having been notified recently of another adult hostage, Szijjártó shared, according to a ministry statement.

He said certain media outlets had blamed the government for having been unaware of the hostages until recently. Szijjártó called for “a minimal degree of fairness”, pointing out that the Hungarian authorities could only be made aware of the hostages if they are notified by the Israeli authorities or relatives.

There had been several cases, he said, of entire families being abducted, with no one left to alert the government, until their more distant relatives realised that they had been taken hostage. “But there are also regrettable cases where the entire family of the individual taken hostage died,” he added.

“So to expect us, in a situation like this, to be aware of someone having been taken hostage before they notify us, is unfair on the part of certain media outlets, to put it mildly,” Szijjártó said.

When lives are in danger, “attempts at such petty political gains, I think, can be considered unworthy, even at this level”, the minister fought back.

The government is in constant contact with the Israeli task force set up to free the hostages, he said, adding that all five Hungarian citizens were included in the list of people the Israeli authorities were trying to free.

Szijjártó said he had consulted last Friday with the foreign minister of a third country acting as a mediator between Israel and Hamas and working to have the hostages freed as soon as possible. “They are also aware of all five Hungarians now,” he added. The minister added his counterpart had promised to pay attention to the Hungarian hostages.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó noted that the government knows of 15 Hungarian citizens stranded in the Gaza Strip who are unable to leave the area for the time being.

The government is in constant contact with them, he said, adding however that this was becoming increasingly difficult because of power and internet connection cut-outs. “We last spoke to all of them yesterday, and they were doing fine. That’s the last update we have on them,” he revealed.

The minister noted that at one point, the Hungarian nationals had managed to pass through two of the three checkpoints towards Egypt, before having to be turned back because of nearby airstrikes.

He also noted that he had spoken with his Egyptian counterpart last week, who had told him that the Hungarians would be allowed to enter the country once the security and legal conditions permitted this.

Radical party: Hungary ‘must stay out of Israeli-Palestinian conflict’

The opposition Mi Hazánk party has called for Hungary to “stay out” of the war between Israel and Hamas, and support the position of the United Nations that urges “an immediate ceasefire and a two-state solution”. In respect of the war in Ukraine, the government proclaimed to be on the side of peace and refused to commit itself either of the warring parties, László Toroczkai, the party’s leader, told a press conference on Tuesday. Yet in the case of the crisis in Israel and Gaza which “threatens the possibility of the outbreak of a third world war”, the government “has abandoned this apparent neutrality” and “has taken the side of bloodshed…”

Mi Hazánk, he said, “most strongly condemns all forms of terrorism”, and that goes for the terrorist acts of Hamas, too. Every state has the right to self-defence, but only in its own territory, he added. Toroczkai said what was taking place in Gaza “can no longer be called self-defence”. “The massacre of 3,000 children cannot in any way be justified as self-defence,” he said, adding that the actions of the Israeli army against Syrian and Lebanese territories risked escalating the conflict.

Hungarian FM calls for end to war at Minsk conference

Foreign minister Szijjártó

An immediate ceasefire and peace talks are needed in Ukraine, as the number of victims and destruction will only grow as the war continues, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, told a security conference in Minsk on Thursday.

Speaking at a high-level international conference entitled Eurasian security: reality and prospects in a transforming world, Szijjártó said Europe and Hungary had already paid a high price for a war they were not responsible for. Hungarians want peace as soon as possible and don’t agree with those saying that the conditions for peace would improve over time, he said, adding that the solution to the war was at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield. Channels of communication must be kept open, “lest we should give up hope for peace,” he added.

Szijjártó said his faith in peace had prompted him to accept the invitation to the conference, “risking, of course, condemnation from certain parts of Europe for the decision,” he said.

In his speech following Sergei Aleinik and Sergei Lavrov, his Belorusian and Russian counterparts, respectively, Szijjártó said that in order to find solutions to Europe’s challenges and to avoid the deterioration of its situation, the war in Ukraine must be ended through a ceasefire and peace talks.

Further, “civilised dialogue” must be restored between the East and the West, and political discourse must return to dialogue based on mutual respect and common sense rather than “debates based on ideology and politics”, he said.

He said the model of European economic growth, based on a combination of cutting-edge western technology and relatively cheap eastern energy, had collapsed. Consequently, natural gas cost four times as much in Europe as in the US and electricity three times as much as in China.

Europe had also made pragmatic issues such as energy supplies a hostage of political and ideological discussions, he said.

While some called for decoupling the European and Chinese economy, Hungary achieved success by becoming a meeting point of interdependent economic players, he said.

The wars in Ukraine and Israel have plunged global security into its worst state since the end of the cold war, he said. Meanwhile, the EU is also struggling with a dramatic fall in competitiveness, as China has grown to have the second largest annual GDP worldwide, he said. As Europe’s share of the world GDP has fallen to 17 percent today from 22 percent in 2010, China’s grew from 9 percent to 18 percent, he said.

Hungary has a vested interest in a safe and strong Europe. “For that, we need peace and connectivity,” Szijjártó said.

Hungarian citizens also taken hostage by Hamas in Israel

Israel

The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has acknowledged that the Hamas terrorist organisation has taken two Hungarian citizens hostage.

Hetek interviewed a Hungarian-Israeli mother whose two daughters were abducted by Hamas terrorists on 7 October. The latest information she has about her children is a video of them sobbing on a mattress.

The girls were staying with her ex-husband and his family when the terrorists abducted them.

A video was later obtained by the woman. It was recorded with her daughter’s phone by the terrorists. They shot her ex-husband in the leg and then took his older son. As the adolescent was uncooperative, the terrorist organisation executed him and his parents, while the two girls, Ella and Dafna, were taken along.

Later, the mother also received a photograph of her daughters sitting on a mattress in captivity, dressed in prayer clothes by the terrorists, with the caption in Arabic that Dafna is ready for prayers, as reported by telex.hu.

“We are in constant contact with the mother and the special task force set up by the Israeli authorities. The children hold dual Hungarian-Israeli citizenship, and we are doing our utmost to secure their release. However, for security concerns, we are not in a position to share any more details with the public. To date, there are still no Hungarian victims of the terrorist attack,” stated Foreign Affairs Spokesman Máté Paczolay.

Priceless fighter plane recovered from Lake Balaton

Balaton fighter plane

A World War II fighter plane that crashed in Hungary eight decades ago has been recovered from Lake Balaton.

The Messerschmitt Me 109 fighter, built in the Győr aircraft factory, is a valuable piece of military history. Around 600 of these were produced and at the time it was one of the most sophisticated fighter aircraft.

The plane was shot down on 2 July 1944. This was the day the US Army launched its biggest air raid against Hungary. The plane is also special because it is the only surviving Messerschmitt assembled in Hungary in the world, economx.hu reports.

Lieutenant General Ferenc Kajári and government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi were present at the ceremony.

FM Szijjártó: ‘Israel has the right to self-defence’

szijjártó in new york

“Any explanation for or relativising” the terrorist attack against Israel “is unacceptable”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in New York late on Tuesday.

“There is no excuse for such barbarism,” Szijjártó told an open debate in the United Nations Security Council, adding that “Israel has the right to self-defence, but an escalation of the situation must be prevented.”

The foreign ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying that global security was “in its worst state since the Cold War”, especially “the grave challenges facing Europe”.

Regarding the wars in Ukraine and Israel, “we must speak clearly and nothing must be relativised … there can be no excuse for firing thousands of missiles at a sovereign country, killing a large number of innocent citizens,” Szijjártó said. “It is not only in the interest of Israel but in that of the whole international community that similar attacks should never happen again.”

“Israel has suffered a terrorist attack … what is now going on is a fight against terrorism, and it is in the interest of the whole world that it should be successful,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said, the international community should do everything to avoid an escalation of the conflict, and “the fight against terrorism should be prevented from broadening into a war between countries.”

Szijjártó noted the 2020 Abraham Accords as an agreement pointing towards a lasting peace, but now the terrorist attacks against Israel posed “a great risk of compromising those achievements, and the situation could become as hopeless as before.”

“We count on the Gulf states, Arab countries in the region, which have so far behaved extremely responsibly, not to allow the results of the Abraham Accords to be ruined,” he said.

Szijjártó said the demonstrations in western Europe and in the US held in support of terrorist organisations and celebrating acts of terrorism had been “terrifying”. He expressed concern about an increase in anti-Semitism, which he said was rooted in mass immigration and had “created parallel societies in some countries”. It was “totally inconceivable” that the Hungarian authorities would grant licence for such demonstrations, he added.

He also warned that a potential escalation of the situation in the Middle East would threaten European with “further and dangerous waves of migration.”

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Hungarian soldiers fighting in Israel had to seek refuge in a bunker

Hungarian Defence Force

Sixteen Hungarian soldiers are currently stationed at the Israeli-Lebanese border. Most recently, they had to seek refuge in a bunker to escape Israeli airstrikes.

Hungarian soldiers abroad

Sixteen Hungarian soldiers are stationed at the Israeli border in southern Lebanon. According to the Irish Mirror, these soldiers, along with several of their fellow service members, were compelled to take shelter in bunkers.

Hungarian peacekeepers are deployed with the Lebanese armed organisation Hezbollah. They are accompanied by 338 Irish soldiers, as well as Polish and Maltese troops. An Irish army spokesman said that the peacekeepers entered the purpose-built bunker at 1 pm local time and emerged nearly four hours later. No injuries were reported.

A total of 16 Hungarian soldiers are participating in the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Lebanon, with 13 of them involved in the incident. A multi-ethnic unit appears to be operating near At Tiri, as well as at the base on the Israeli border. The majority of the soldiers are of Irish and Polish nationality. The first rotation of Hungarian soldiers took place in September.

Statement from the Ministry of Defence

The Hungarian Defence Forces have also confirmed the news. Currently, 16 Hungarian soldiers are serving in Lebanon, comprising the second contingent. A welcome-back ceremony for the first batch was held at the Maria Theresia barracks on 19 October.

Colonel Norbert Vadászi recalled that in July last year, the Honvéd Vezérérérkar (National Defence Headquarters) assigned the corps the task of preparing and forming the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in six-month rotations until 2025.

“They have been assigned duties such as surveillance, patrolling, and collaborating with the Lebanese army. We maintain regular contact with them,” the Hungarian Defence Forces informed hvg.hu.

“We, Hungarian soldiers, will primarily carry out patrol duties and will be responsible for guarding and protecting the camp,” said Lieutenant Krecz. He added that they maintained continuous communication with the troops on the field, allowing them to make thorough preparations in advance.

Israeli Ambassador to Hungary: Hamas attack ‘watershed’ moment

Jewish Hungary israel flag

Hamas’s attack on Israel was a “watershed” moment for the Middle Eastern country, Israeli Ambassador to Hungary Yakov Hadas-Handelsman told parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Monday.

Hadas-Handelsman thanked Hungary’s parliament for its support, and asked for international support for Israel’s self-defence.

What happened on October 7 was not a terrorist attack but a “pogrom”, and even Holocaust survivors say they had not experienced such actions even during the Holocaust, the ambassador said, adding that Hamas’s terrorists had tortured people and murdered children. The attack was total destruction and a “barbaric act”, he said, adding that Hamas was as big a threat as the Islamic State terrorist group, with neither distinguishing between nationalities.

Hadas-Handelsman said Israel had been caught in a surprise attack. He said putting an end to this “barbarism” was not just in the interest of Israel, but also that of the international community, arguing that Hamas’s actions were being celebrated in multiple parts of the world. Israel wants to end Hamas’s political and military rule in the Gaza Strip in a way that this has minimal effect on those it does not concern, he said, adding that this was why Israel had called on civilians to leave northern Gaza.

He said Israel aimed to rescue all of the hostages held by Hamas.

Meanwhile, the country is prepared to have to defend itself on two fronts in the event that a second on opens up from Lebanon, he said.

The ambassador also said that while the reasons behind Hamas’s attack were unknown, it was possible Hamas had thought that Israel had been weakened and was divided by the ongoing internal social dispute, giving them a good opportunity to strike. One other possibility, he said, was that Iran could have been the one behind the attack because of its concerns over the United States’ taking a leadership role in the process to normalise the situation in the Middle East, and the significant changes this could bring to the region.

Some also interpret the attack as Iran and Russia working together to create a more difficult situation in the Middle East with the aim to divert attention from Ukraine, he said.

Ruling Fidesz’s Zsolt Németh, the head of the committee, said there was broad consensus on the condemnation of Hamas’s actions and the recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself. Hamas’s attack had been aimed at the destruction of Israel, so the world cannot be indifferent in this situation, he said, stressing the importance of supporting the existence of the state of Israel.

Németh also said there were no pro-Hamas demonstrations in Hungary, and that the Jewish community could count on the Hungarian state’s protection.

Ágnes Vadai of the leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) said her party had submitted a draft resolution aimed at parliament designating Hamas a terrorist organisation in line with a resolution adopted by the Council of the European Union.

Lőrinc Nacsa of the co-ruling Christian Democrats said the events had “shocked” everyone.

Hadas-Handelsman said in response to Nacsa that the pro-Hamas rallies held across several cities was the exact reason why they did not think that the attack was solely Israel’s problem.

Opposition Jobbik’s Koloman Brenner said the reason why Hamas’s actions could be considered “barbaric” was because it demonstrated the group’s brutality and had been part of a pre-planned strategy.

Zita Gurmai of the Socialist Party said they condemned Hamas’s attack, but stressed the need to take civilians into consideration.

Government: EU money probably used for terror purposes in the Middle East

EU money terror Israel Palestine

Anti-Semitism has been a tradition for the European left now for a decade, Zoltán Kovács, the state secretary for government communications and international relations, said in a podcast released by the portal Mandiner on Friday.

“We are going to witness a new era in Western Europe and the United States, related to the attitude of Muslim immigrants who arrived there in large numbers,” he said in the interview recorded on Wednesday.

He said that “in the most surprising events, Palestinians and Arabs are marching in the streets from Sydney to New York, from Manchester to Dusseldorf, hailing the attacks and the murder of more than a thousand Israelis“. At the same time, politicians and the public in western Europe look on confused and shocked, he said.

“It will be very difficult for them to do anything about it because most of those people are most probably citizens of those countries with a vote.”

“It is not about being anti-Israeli, it is about anti-Semitism,” he said, adding that left-wing groups in the European Parliament are also expected to call for support for Palestine.

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A new level of ruthlessness and baseness

“The West built itself a trap we must avoid at all cost,” said Kovács, adding the spread of anti-Semitism should serve as yet another “strong argument” against illegal migration. He said recent developments justified anti-migration steps, insisting that “our position is valid and should be maintained, or else we are going to drift into the conflicts”.

He said further terrorist attacks could be expected in big western European cities where local internal conflicts in society prevail.

Kovács called the terrorist organisation Hamas’s attack on Israel “a new level of ruthlessness and baseness”. The attack will reshape the situation in Israeli-Palestinian relations and the region’s future, he said.

“We have talked much about the era of dangers. Covid and the war in Ukraine brought things we thought (…) we wouldn’t have to face. The events in Israel now brought a new element to that era,” he said.

He slammed the Western European and EU approach as “hypocritical”.

“The European Union is one of the biggest supporters of the Palestinian Authority,” he said.

Hamas, besides the Palestinian Authority, is the “organiser and operator of local life” in Palestine, he said. The EU funding sent there is channelled to the group “in some form”, he insisted.

The EU, however, “is willing to look the other way” when the funding, well over 400 million euros a year, is “probably used for terror purposes amid a lack of transparency”, and so the monies will keep flowing even after those “unacceptable and unspeakable events”, he said.

Meanwhile, within Europe, “the Polish and us don’t get any money” under the excuse of rule-of-law regulations, Kovács said. Hungary’s funding is being withheld under false pretences, “because it is crystal clear that Hungary has fulfilled all obligations,” he added.