Twenty-three Irish citizens have left or are leaving Gaza through the Rafah crossing, Michéal Martin said on Wednesday.
The group of citizens and their dependants began to depart for Egypt on Wednesday morning, the Department of Foreign Affairs had previously confirmed.
“The good news today is that 23 Irish citizens have come through - or are in the process - at Rafah,” Mr Martin told reporters in Cairo.
The Tánaiste said the people included family groups with children but added that some on the list to leave the territory today were not in a position to depart.
Mark O'Connell: The mystery is not why we Irish have responded to Israel’s barbarism. It’s why others have not
Afghan student nurses crushed as Taliban blocks last hope of jobs
Emer McLysaght: The seven deadly things you should never buy a child at Christmas
‘No place to hide’: Trapped on the US-Mexico border, immigrants fear deportation
“People who were not in a position today to make it might be in a position tomorrow but it’s very fluid,” he said.
“Our initial response is they are in good form. Not all of them will have known each other. They’re now bonding well below at Rafah, We’ll have buses ready and so forth and transport ready to take them to Cairo and we’ll do a further evaluation there if anybody requires any health services we can make those available here. Obviously they’re in good form.”
The Irish Palestinian group was understood to remain at the Rafah crossing at around 4.30pm Irish time, with their documents being finalised on the Egyptian side with assistance from an Irish diplomat from the Cairo embassy. The Egyptian side of the crossing has now closed and no further citizens are expected to begin passing through on Wednesday.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman confirmed that 23 people exited Gaza on Wednesday and were received at the Rafah Crossing by a team from the embassy in Cairo.
She said: “They are being provided with consular assistance and support, including with onward travel to Ireland.”
The department expects additional Irish citizens and dependants in Gaza to be on the list to exit the enclave in the coming days.
The spokeswoman said: “The Department remains in regular communication with Irish citizens on the ground and we are updating them directly as soon as we have confirmed information.
“We are working consistently to ensure that all those who wish to do so will be able to exit as soon as possible.”
The wife and three children of Dr Ahmed El Mokhallalati, who is working in Al-Shifa Hospital, are listed on Wednesday’s departure list but have still not been able to evacuate.
Eman Alagha, an Irish citizen and the sister of Ibrahim Alagha, has still not passed through with her husband Mohammad Laqan, who is not currently a citizen.
Arrangements are in place for staff from the Irish Embassy in Cairo to help with onward travel to Ireland.
Among those leaving Gaza today were Ibrahim Alagha, his wife and three children, who are all Irish citizens. They were in Gaza City for an extended holiday when Israel began its bombardment. They have since become stranded in the conflict zone and have been waiting to exit Gaza through the Rafah crossing into Egypt.
Mr Alagha (38), who is currently based in the south of the Gaza Strip, said his children aged eight, four and three, are “always asking for food or water that we don’t have”.
Mr Alagha moved to Ireland 15 years ago and had been working as an electronic engineer, living with his wife and children in Blanchardstown. He and his family came to Gaza in June on an extended holiday to visit relatives.
They fled their apartment in Gaza City last month to move in with his parents in the city of Khan Younis in the southern end of the Gaza Strip.
He arrived in Rafah at 7am local time with his family. “I’ve only fuel for one journey. I couldn’t afford any surprises,” he told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland.
He said he had “mixed feelings” about going back to “normal life” as he was leaving behind “friends” and “memories” in Gaza.
However, the family of Irish Palestinian surgeon Dr Ahmed El Mokhallalati were trapped in Gaza City and unable to make it to the Rafah crossing despite being on the list of those allowed to leave. Dr El Mokhallalati told RTÉ radio’s News at One that he had made the decision to stay as he wanted to care for his patients.
Irish national Ayman Shaheen, along with his wife Suha, daughter Rawan (19) and son Ibrahim (12), was hopeful of getting through the Rafah crossing today.
The family, which has been in the Rafah area since October, told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland they were contacted by the Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday night to say they are on the list to leave today.
“We are so lucky. We kept checking, twice a day. We are lucky to be alive. It is a great feeling that we are leaving,” he said.
Mr Shaheen thanked the Department of Foreign Affairs, saying “they did a great job”. His family was lucky to be leaving, he said. But 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza “will continue under the nightmare. The terrible war. But for me and for my family, as I said, we are so lucky to be able to go to cross the border.”
After meetings in Cairo with Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry and Arab League representatives, Mr Martin travels to Tel Aviv on Wednesday night for meetings on Thursday with Israeli representatives. He will meet later on Thursday with representatives of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah in the West Bank.
The Tánaiste said he will continue to work to ensure all those who want to leave Gaza are facilitated and supported in leaving.
He went on to say he will also press for Hamas to release Israeli-Irish girl Emily Hand, who is presumed to have been taken hostage during the October 7th attacks. Emily turns nine on Friday.
In relation to Emily Hand, the Tánaiste said: “I met with the family before leaving so I’m very focused on that particular issue. As an Irish eight-year-old citizen I think it’s imperative that she is released and indeed all hostages and particularly the children who have been abducted.”
Mr Martin said he will press the need for a ceasefire to half the violence, saying he hoped to work with regional leaders on a “pathway forward” for the conflict.
