STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE
‘We were hugging in case we died’ – Irish citizen escapes war-torn Gaza after months of ‘fear and horror’ to see family
Mr Hania had laid bare the escalating bombardment near his house in Khan Younis
IRISH citizen Zak Hania has finally fled war-torn Gaza after months trapped in “hell”.
His wife Batoul Hania managed to escape the Israeli bombardment on the enclave via the Rafah crossing into Egypt last November with their four sons.
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But husband Zak, an Irish passport holder, had remained stranded in Gaza unable to leave as his name was not on a list of those allowed out.
Frantic Batoul and their Irish-born sons, Mazen, 19, Ismael, 17, Ahmed, 14 and Nour Mohamed, 11, launched a campaign in a bid to secure the father-of-four’s release from the Gaza strip.
And today it emerged Irish-Palestinian dad has left the Gaza Strip and is to be reunited with his family in Dublin this weekend.
Mr Hania told how he fled Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Tuesday and after clearing Egyptian border checks, he reached Cairo on Wednesday.
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The dad described it as “a long, tiring journey”.
But Zak, who had feared he would never see his family again, revealed is looking forward to arriving in Dublin tomorrow.
Overjoyed Ms Hania said she was “excited” to be reunited with her husband.
She declared: “I feel excited. It’s a long time to have been fighting for this.
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“It has been difficult. For him I think it’s a combination between happiness to be reunited with the kids and grief that he is leaving Gaza and the situation there.”
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The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that “a number of Irish citizens and dependants crossed from Gaza into Egypt” on Tuesday.
Permission to leave through Rafah must be sanctioned by both Israeli and Egyptian authorities.
Ahead of his trip home to Ireland, Zak reflected on his "daily struggle" to survive as bombs rained down on Gaza.
He recalled: "The bombings were constant, day and night.
"I was staying with my nephews and I remember one night we thought we would not survive - the bombardments were so close.
"We were hugging each other just in case we died."
Mr Hania described the conditions in Rafah as "beyond imagination".
DAILY STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE
He explained: "We lived constantly under the noise and the sounds of drones, fighter jets, bombardments and artillery shells.
"Those sounds are constant - 24 hours. Can you imagine like, you know, living for seven months under all this fear and horror?
"And you're just hearing the bombs and you don't know where the target is. It was a very hard experience and I don't wish anybody to live [like that].
"Then we also had to try and survive in terms of getting food and water. It was a daily struggle."
Mr Hania spoke of his elation at being able to travel home to Dublin to be reunited with his wife and four children.
But the dad admitted he had "conflicting" feelings about his return to safety.
'THANK GOD, I MADE IT OUT OF GAZA'
Zak said: "I went through a lot in the past seven months. I thank God I am safe now but it was a very, very tough experience.
"I remain very worried about my sisters, my cousins, my nephews and nieces [that are left behind].
"I hope the war will stop very soon."
Mr Hania added he "did not know" why it took so long for him to be able to leave Gaza and join his family back in Ireland.
He said: "I applied to leave through the Department of Foreign Affairs who have been trying [to help] all this time.
"[Israeli authorities] did not give me the go-ahead to leave and did not give me any explanations. Finally, thank God, I made it out of Gaza."
DANGER LAID BARE
Mrs Hania has previously spoken about her agony at having to leave her husband behind.
She said: “It was heartbreaking. Not just saying goodbye, saying farewell to somebody, you are in extraordinary conditions. You are leaving somebody in danger.”
After he was left stranded in Gaza, Mr Hania had laid bare the escalating bombardment near his house in Khan Younis, sharing video footage of the mayhem.
Traumatised Zak described the situation before Christmas as “very, very, very dangerous” and had issued impassioned pleas to the Taoiseach and the Government for help to escape the chaos.
Son Mazen had also spoke of the family’s torment after his father was blocked from leaving Gaza with his loved ones.
Mazen said: “My dad did his masters in journalism in DCU (Dublin City University), and he worked as a lecturer at the University of Palestine but his salary was not good.
"He resigned and worked as a translator and translates essays and reports. I don’t know why he is on the blacklist.”
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