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In the wake of the escalation in the Middle East, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has contacted a total of 165 Hungarian citizens living in Lebanon in recent days, offering them all assistance to leave the country.
In a joint operation with the Ministry of Defence, 18 Hungarian citizens and their family members have finally returned home to Hungary, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday on social media.
“As worrying as this is for Europe and the world, the events of the past few days show that the chances of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East are increasing, Szijjártó wrote.
“In addition to the fact that Hungary is calling for peace in all international forums and trying to prevent escalation, the government has a primary duty that overrides all considerations: to guarantee the security of the Hungarian people,” the minister added, stressing that in the past few days, a total of 165 Hungarian citizens in Lebanon had been contacted by telephone or e-mail with this task in mind.
Once it was confirmed that all of them were safe, they were offered assistance to return home as quickly and safely as possible, which was provided by the Hungarian Defense Forces’ aircraft, Szijjártó said, adding that 18 Hungarian citizens, including seven children and the immediate relatives of these Hungarian families, took advantage of this opportunity.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first operation of this type that we have carried out in the region, so in accordance with established practice, we have also informed our allies of the Hungarian operation and indicated to them that we can provide assistance in repatriating their citizens,” the minister wrote.
Szijjártó also said that as a result of all these efforts, a Hungarian Defense Forces plane had just left Lebanese airspace with 18 Hungarians and 11 foreign nationals on board, including five Czech, one French, and one Slovakian.