A woman with Hungarian citizenship is among the hostages released by Hamas on Saturday, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto posted on Facebook late on Saturday evening.
We can now confirm the good news that there is a woman with Hungarian citizenship among the hostages released today according to the agreement between Israel and the Hamas. She is is now in safety in Israel,
the minister wrote.
"I have just thanked the Qatari government for their assistance, and we hope that the release of the hostages will continue in the coming days. We will remain in constant contact with the Qatari State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Soltan Bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, and if we receive reliable information, we will make it public in accordance with our adopted practice," Peter Szijjarto concluded his post.
Possibly four more Hungarian hostages
During the night, Israel disclosed the names of those released on Saturday, including 18-year-old Noga Weisz, who holds Hungarian citizenship and her mother, 53-year-old Shiri Weis, who is not a Hungarian citizen.
Ilan Weiss, the father has been reported missing since "black Saturday", which means that his body has not been found, but there is no information that he has been taken to the Gaza Strip, Hungary's state news agency (MTI) reported.
According to earlier information disclosed by Hungary's foreign minister five people with Hungarian citizenship have been taken hostage by Hamas, with four of them still remaining in Gaza. "As long as all five hostages of Hungarian nationality are not safe, Hungary demands that Hamas release the hostages and that the international community take a stand against Hamas and make it clear that all hostages must be released," the Hungarian FM stated a few days ago.
Also released
13 Israelis and 4 foreigner nationals were handed over by the Hamas terror group to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday evening after almost seven hours of delay, Hungary's state news agency (MTI) reported.
The four foreign nationals who were kidnapped and taken to Gaza are Thai guest workers. Most of the eight Israeli children and five women freed were abducted from kibbutz Be'eri, situated near the Gaza Strip, and have been held in unknown locations in the Gaza Strip for the fifty days since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7.
A 13-year-old girl, Hila Rotem Shoshani, was freed, but her kidnapped mother has remained in Hamas captivity, although Israel has strongly requested in the agreement that parents and children must be released together.
9-year-old Emily Hand, who was held captive alone without her family, was freed. She was kidnapped from a pajama party held at her friend, Hila Rotem Shoshani's home in the kibbutz. Initially, her father was told that her remains had been identified, but later this turned out to be false information and his daughter was declared a hostage.
17-year-old Noam Or and his 13-year-old sister Alma Or can return home. Their mother was murdered on October 7, their father was also kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
The partner and sister of 67-year-old Shosan Haran were murdered while she herself and several of her relatives were kidnapped by Hamas militants. Along with Shoshan, her 38-year-old daughter Adi, and her two children, 3-year-old Jahel and 8-year-old Nave were released on Saturday. The 38-year-old father, Tal, remains hostage.
21-year-old Maja Regev and her 18-year-old brother were abducted from the music festival. She arrived in Israel in serious but not life-threatening condition. Maja Regev is the only hostage freed who was not taken to Gaza from kibutz Be'eri. Under the agreement with Hamas, her brother, who is officially underage, should also have been returned to Israel.
After border controls and identity checks, all the freed hostages are transferred from Rafah to Israel, where they are placed in hospitals for health assessment and monitoring.
Cover photo: Six-year-old Amelia Aloni and her mother Daniel, who were freed from captivity by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas, are greeted by relatives at Schneider Children's Hospital in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, on November 24, 2023. On this day, Hamas handed over the first group of Israeli hostages taken in the October 7 terror attack to the International Red Cross. At the same time, the release of 39 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, to be freed in exchange for the hostages, has begun. (Photo: MTI/AP/Schneider Children's Hospital)
