Three more Irish citizens leave Gaza
Ireland’s deputy premier Micheal Martin visited Israel on Thursday.
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Your support makes all the difference.Three more Irish citizens have been able to leave Gaza, Ireland’s deputy premier has said.
It comes a day after 23 Irish citizens, including families with children, crossed into Egypt.
Tanaiste Micheal Martin, who is visiting the area, said he believes more will be able to leave by Sunday amid the ongoing war.
He said he has been given assurances by Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen that the majority of Irish citizens still in Gaza will be able to leave within the next three days.
Mr Martin visited two towns in southern Israel on Thursday which had been attacked by Hamas in October.
They included Kibbutz Be’eri where eight-year-old Irish-Israeli girl Emily Hand was taken hostage.
He said he unreservedly condemned the “brutal attack by Hamas”, and called for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages.
He said he expressed his concern at the “catastrophic situation in Gaza” to Mr Cohen and “reiterated calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.
Mr Martin also met Israeli president Isaac Herzog, and said he stressed to him the “urgent need to dramatically increase the supply of humanitarian aid into Gaza”.
Mr Martin told RTE that his impression from discussions with Israeli leaders is that there is a determination to continue with its military campaign in Gaza.
“I get the sense this morning that Israel wants to believe that it can eliminate Hamas militarily. We don’t share that view,” he said.
“I’m very clear that we we do need humanitarian ceasefire.”
Mr Martin later travelled to the West Bank where he held an hour-long meeting with Palestinian Authority prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.
He said he expressed his sympathy with the Palestinian people over civilian deaths in Gaza in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“We discussed the role the international community must play in the path to peace and Ireland’s support for the two-state solution,” he added.