As Gaza braces for a ground invasion of Israeli troops in the wake of atrocities by Hamas nine days ago, one Irish-Palestinian family trapped in the area have appealed to the government here to help them return to Ireland.
The Department of Foreign Affairs says the situation is “complex and extremely fluid” and that it is in contact with a small number of Irish citizens in Gaza and with all relevant authorities in respect of their cases.
Ibrahim Alagha, who was born in Gaza but is raising his Irish-born children in Blanchardstown, Dublin, travelled to Gaza with his wife Hamida in June to visit family.
The 38-year old electrical engineer and his wife are Irish citizens.
He told the Irish Independent that they had made the dangerous journey to Gaza’s border with Egypt where they believed they would be evacuated with assistance from the Irish embassy, but that did not transpire.
“We are very scared and now it is not just of being bombed. The issue is our food and water supply is getting very low; we have no internet either so it’s getting harder to stay in touch with the outside world,” he said.
He added: “Myself and my wife grew up in Gaza, so we have some experience of attacks. But my children are born and raised in Ireland and they do not. My eight-year-old, he is particularly scared, because he can watch the news and understand what is happening.
“The younger two, they get frightened when they hear the explosions. We all just want to get safely back to Ireland.”
Mr Alagha said that that the family were frightened and “very disappointed”. He added that the Irish embassy “is doing its best. But unfortunately, there is very little they can do.”
“The journey there and back to the border is very, very unsafe but we felt we had to do it. We are stuck here for now. It is an incredibly dangerous environment. We just hope we get more news from the embassy soon about another planned evacuation.”
He also said that was trying to ensure his wife’s family could leave Gaza as their house had been bombed.
“We want and need to bring them with us. They would not be any drain on the Irish State – I would financially support them in Ireland, too, and they would live with us.
“It is not safe for them here and now their home is gone.”
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said at the weekend that the UN Secretary General had “made it very clear yesterday; even wars have rules”.
“International humanitarian law exists for a reason. Its overarching aim is to protect civilians; all civilians, everywhere. The rules are clear and they apply to all parties to all conflicts everywhere; state actor and non-state actors alike,” he said.
“The decision by the Israeli military to tell the entire civilian population in the north of the Gaza strip to move southward for their own safety is deeply dangerous and impossible to implement.”
He condemned the “brutal criminality of Hamas” but said “we absolutely must distinguish between Hamas and Palestinian civilians in Gaza”.
“There is no doubt about the brutal criminality of Hamas and their utter disregard for human life, including the lives of their fellow Palestinians,” he said.
He said that the government was “in contact with the UN and other partners on an ongoing basis on work to create humanitarian corridors from Egypt, to get vital supplies to civilians in urgent need in Gaza.”
The Irish News reported that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said there are around 40 Irish citizens in Gaza that are either UN aid workers or dual citizens.
The Rafah crossing is now the sole remaining exit out of Gaza, and hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian aid remains stalled on the Egyptian side.
Meanwhile, the BBC reported that two teenagers are among the list of missing British nationals following the Hamas attacks on Israel.
They are sisters Noiya, 13, and Yahel, 16 – and ther family believe they were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri and taken with hundreds of other prisoners into Gaza.
Their mother Lianne who was born in the UK was murdered by Hamas.