Khalid El-Estal, a man from Belfast whose wife and other relatives were killed during the bombing in Gaza, reported that his two children are now in Egypt after crossing the border. Ali, aged four, and Sara, aged one, were separated from their father and trafficked into Egypt in the aftermath of the attack. Mr El-Estal, who was in Saudi Arabia when the bombing took place, constantly appealed for information to help reunite him with his children.
Mr El-Estal was born and raised in Belfast, where he went to primary school while his father was a lecturer at Queen’s University. When he was eight, his family relocated to Gaza, where he met his wife Ashwak Jendia at university. She and other relatives were among the victims of the bombing that broke out after Hamas’s 7 October attacks, which killed 1,200 people and took over 200 hostages.
“I’m happy to announce that my kids have crossed the border into Egypt,” Mr El-Estal told Irish broadcaster RTÉ. He said they were being processed and that this was “great news”. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, over 11,500 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, with over 4,500 of them being children.
On Wednesday, Irish deputy prime minister Micheál Martin stated that 23 Irish citizens had managed to leave Gaza and cross into Egypt, and that another group of around 40 Irish citizens and their families were expected to evacuate soon. Martin expressed his gratitude for the good news of families with children being able to leave the war-torn region. He also confirmed that three more Irish citizens had crossed into Egypt on Thursday, but that there were processing delays affecting evacuation efforts. Meanwhile, Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen gave Martin assurances that the majority of Irish citizens remaining in Gaza would be able to exit in the coming days
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