‘Please help us. Missiles are exploding all around us. We’ve nowhere to go.’
Gaza footage shows massive escalation following ceasefire
CONCERN is mounting for Irish citizen Zak Hania who is stranded in Gaza in the wake of a video he sent the Irish Mail on Sunday yesterday.
In the horrifying footage, Mr Hania captures massive explosions nearby as people are seen running terrified in all directions.
He told the MoS from a perilous Gaza: ‘The situation is very, very dangerous. We are in great danger. There is an escalation of bombing, all the time we are hearing bombs and missiles and they just bombed a few buildings in the area.
‘We don’t know where to go or what to do.’
He went on to plead with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin to help him.
‘Please, please ask the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste to do something.
‘This must stop. This massacre, this genocide must stop.’
The video, made from a balcony in the wake of the breakdown of the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire, shows a huge explosion, the sound of gunfire and people running for cover. It appears to have been filmed yesterday.
Mr Hania lived in Gaza City with his wife, Batoul, and their children, Mazen, Ismael, Ahmed and Nour until the war began. Last month his wife and children were among the Irish citizens who escaped Gaza over the Rafah border.
Mr Hania, however, was not on this list. He told the MoS he does not know why he was not included.
In the short 57-second video Mr Hania is heard saying ‘Oh my God’ several times.
Against a backdrop of a huge explosion and subsequent plume of smoke he says: ‘Oh my God. It is near us. Where to go now.’
Having lived in Ireland since 1998, Mr Hania – who was born in Gaza – returned to the enclave about a decade ago, where he works as a researcher and translator.
His four sons, aged between 19 and 10, were all born in Ireland.
Mr Hania, who lived in Castleknock, west Dublin for a period and holds a master’s degree from Dublin City University, has previously warned that hospitals in Gaza are struggling to deal with overcrowding and electricity cuts.
‘There is a shortage in everything. The hospitals are overcrowded, staff are not able to cope with the high numbers... The main station that supplies electricity is going to stop today.’
Last month Mr Hania fled from north to south Gaza as the bombing intensified. He told the MoS at the time: ‘We are leaving our home, we can’t stay. We were too scared last night, we barely survived.’
Mr Hania was last night at the border crossing at Rafah waiting to get the go-ahead to leave Gaza. He says a small number of Irish citizens are there too. Commenting on Mr Hania’s current situation, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said: ‘A small number of Irish citizens remain in Gaza. The Department of Foreign Affairs is continuing to work with the relevant authorities on these cases and to assist in instances where other Irish citizens and accompanying dependents wish to exit Gaza.’
tip for the festive season is to wear a brightlycoloured coat when you go to parties.
I went to a great
party the other night but the sea of navy and black coats left at the door meant many guests were on their hands and
knees at party end, rummaging around in the pile to find their own indistinguishable garment.