Roscommon-based Gazan seeks help to get her mother out of war-torn strip – The Irish Times

Her room in Ballaghaderreen has been ready for her arrival since her Irish visa was granted in February, but Najwa Alsabbagh (74) remains stuck in northern Gaza, under deadly bombings.

Her daughter, Sherin Alsabbagh, an Irish citizen, says “time is running out” and she is prepared to pay whatever it costs to get her mother out and bring her to Ireland, to live with her in the town of Co Roscommon.

“It’s an emergency,” Sherin said. “Time is really against us. It was reported that Netanyahu wanted to empty northern Gaza and cut off all food and aid. My mother has already lost around 20 kilos.

Sherin says her mother eats “one meal, or less, of rice or bread a day – nothing nutritious; no eggs or vegetables. She had back surgery before the invasion and was taking blood pressure pills, but no medication is currently available.

His mother lost “nearly 200 family members – a sister, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins ​​with their spouses and children.”

“She is 74 years old but she has to run to safety like crazy through the streets, through the dead bodies,” explains Sherin.

In a phone call yesterday, Najwa told her daughter she was living in constant terror.

“Airstrikes and bombings are everywhere. They don’t discriminate. They bomb without warning,” she said.

“I’m afraid of being killed. They cut off all help. No food is allowed to enter the northern part of Gaza. We are suffering from lack of food,” Najwa told Sherin during the call.

“Our house is not safe because the walls were destroyed by previous airstrikes. They want to give us no choice but to leave and go to southern Gaza. »

( Gaza humanitarian crisis deepens as hospital calls for helpOpens in a new window )

The Foreign Office informed Sherin in early February that her mother had been allowed to enter Ireland, subject to Israel agreeing to let her leave Gaza.

Sherin moved to Ireland on an Irish Aid scholarship in 2008 to study a Masters in Development Studies and became a citizen two years ago. She signed a commitment to host Najwa at her home in Ballaghaderreen where she works with refugees for the Galway Roscommon Education Training Board.

Sherin’s brother, his wife and their four children, who live with Najwa, were denied a visa. Sherin has two other brothers and a sister living in Sweden.

“The plan was that my mother would leave Egypt through the Rafah border crossing and someone from the Irish embassy in Cairo would meet her there, give her the visa and put her on a plane to come here,” she said.

In May, Sherin was informed that Israeli authorities had agreed to allow Najwa to leave, but that the Rafah border crossing had then been closed.

The Erez crossing, closer to the Alsabbagh home in the northern region, had previously been closed and reopened only for aid deliveries. According to the United Nations, no food has entered Gaza in the past two weeks.

( ‘Children as young as five say they would rather die’: Irish doctors say Gaza children are ‘re-traumatised’Opens in a new window )

Sherin, whose father died four years ago, wrote to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister of Health to request that her mother’s name be added to a list of 30 sick children approved by Cabinet for evacuation for medical treatment in Ireland. She received no substantive response.

“I’m so lucky that the Irish government granted my mother a visa, but it takes a long time,” she says.

“It’s been five months and the situation is not improving. If I could put my mother on that evacuation list, I would pay for her flight, whatever it cost to get her here.

Najwa lives near Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility which has been repeatedly attacked by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since November. A siege of the hospital in March is said to have “destroyed” many neighboring houses.

“My family was stuck in the house for 10 days because the tanks were outside. Three entire families of neighbors across the street were wiped out. They are still under the rubble,” says Sherin.

“My mother keeps praying that if she is killed, she will be buried and not eaten by stray dogs. About three weeks ago she said to me, “I hate seeing myself in this situation. That’s all, I don’t want to go out. It was a suicidal speech.

( Israeli forces committing war crime in northern Gaza, says Micheál Martin, calling for international actionOpens in a new window )

The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said Monday that at least 42,289 Palestinians had been killed and 98,684 injured since last October.

“My mother is an educated woman. She was a teacher. She raised and educated five children with my father. They worked very hard to give us a future. They taught us to be strong, good and kind. We are not against Israel. We are not with Hamas. We are peaceful people,” she says.

“I’m really grateful that the Irish government is helping my mother by granting her a visa and allowing her to come and live with me here, but I want them to speed things up.

“Time is running out for me and my mother. If she stays there, she will die.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said it was aware of Najwa Alsabbagh’s case and had counseled her family.

“The Israeli military operation in Rafah has resulted in the current closure of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt,” the spokesperson said.

“It has now been five months since civilians have been allowed to leave. »