Irish-Palestinian man thankful after reunion with family

There were emotional scenes at Dublin Airport as Zak Hania was reunited with his wife Batoul Hania and four sons, who he has not seen since November last year.

He had previously said he was afraid he would never see his family again.

Ms Hania and her children were able to cross at the Rafah crossing at the time, but Mr Hania was denied, but he successfully crossed the same crossing into Egypt earlier this week.

Mr Hania arrived in Ireland on a flight from Cairo today.

Mr Hania embraced his wife and children as he emerged from arrivals at the airport, and he dropped to his knees and kissed the ground.

The family, who lived in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis before the escalation of war between Israel and Hamas, have been campaigning since they were separated for Mr Hania's return to Ireland.

They have been living in Dublin since they left Gaza.

Speaking at the airport today, Mr Hania said: "I have love and respect for this land.

"Ireland is in my heart, as is Palestine.

"I don't have enough words to thank you and to thank all the people who are going to the streets and being in the streets for a long time, and all the people who are making every effort to support the people in Gaza and to support Palestine and trying to stop this brutal genocide.

"I think Israel has taken off their mask and they are showing their real face.

"And we are, as human beings, we are showing our true humanity, and our determination to stop this crime and to be united all together, all of humanity, to be united to stop this crime."

Speaking yesterday to RTÉ's News at One before coming to Ireland, Mr Hania recalled a "very tough experience" over the last few months.

"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.

"I went through a lot in the past seven months. I thank God I am safe now".

He added that he remained very worried about his family and those left behind, saying that he hoped the war will in Gaza stop soon.

Mr Hania described conditions in Rafah as "beyond imagination".

"We lived constantly under the noise and the sounds of drones, fighter jets, bombardments and artillery shells.

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"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 said he "did not know" why it took so long for him to be able to leave Gaza and join his family back in Ireland.

Mr Hania was assisted by the Department of Foreign Affairs to return to Dublin.

The department said that since the beginning of the crisis in Gaza, it assisted more than 100 Irish citizens and dependants to leave Gaza, and that a "small number of Irish citizens or immediate dependants of Irish citizens" remain there.

Additional reporting by PA