The evacuated Hungarians arrived safely at Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest.Continue reading
The government is launching a new evacuation operation to bring home Hungarians stranded in Israel, and the authorities are in contact with all 220 persons who have applied for consular protection, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Wednesday. Since the latest news, five more Hungarian citizens have been successfully evacuated from the warn-torn country.
The minister said that the situation in Israel remains extremely worrying, with armed operations still ongoing and regular sheltering of embassy staff in Tel Aviv. “We are on 24-hour duty. Of course, we are also working with increased consular staff here in Budapest to ensure that we can keep in touch with everyone who is registered for consular protection and provide assistance,” Péter Szijjártó noted. “All Hungarian citizens who have registered for consular protection in Israel will receive information from the embassy every two hours on the current security situation, airport information, and other border crossing options,” he added.
He stressed that if a flight reaches Tel Aviv, the consuls at the airport will try to put Hungarian passengers in the remaining seats. This is how five people managed to leave the country the day before. He pointed out that it is increasingly difficult and dangerous to leave Israel by air, while by land it is possible at four border crossings, three to Jordan and one to Egypt. “These crossing points are basically open during daylight hours, and Hungarian citizens in Israel are kept informed about this,” he highlighted.
The foreign minister reported on Wednesday evening that the security situation in the Middle Eastern country continues to deteriorate, with an increasing number of airlines cancelling flights from Tel Aviv airport due to rocket attacks. He underlined that they are in contact with a total of 220 people whose return is uncertain, and are trying to help them all. “We want them to be able to come home as soon as possible. We are working to enable everyone to return home safely. Several evacuation operations are being developed along several routes,” he said.
Szijjártó then announced that
Hungarians stranded in Israel and registered for consular protection will be notified of another evacuation operation in the next few minutes at the contact details they have provided.
He also asked all those contacted not to disclose the date, details, and route of the future evacuation operation, as this would jeopardize its safe implementation. “Anyone who discloses the details of the evacuation operation will unfortunately have to bear the responsibility if something goes wrong because of leaks or if the evacuation operation is cancelled,” he emphasized. “I therefore ask you, who are now in Israel and have registered for consular protection, to make a decision in the next minutes or hours and report back to our consuls whether you wish to participate in the upcoming evacuation operation,” he concluded.
Via MTI, Featured image: Honvédelem.hu