28/08/2025
Fifty-two young Palestinians from Gaza are due to arrive in Ireland today and in the coming days to begin a new life as students in Irish universities.
In what has been a complex and sensitive operation, which involved securing permission to leave Gaza and transit through Israel from the Israeli authorities, as well as entry permission from Jordan, the students got the green light in messages sent to their phones on Tuesday.
They had all applied and been accepted by Irish universities, but whether or not they would make it here has been certain at no point.
The students, who come from different parts of Gaza, have travelled via Amman in Jordan and Istanbul in Turkey.
They are due to arrive in Ireland on three commercial flights today and in the coming days.
The first flight with an estimated 27 students will touch down in Dublin airport later this afternoon. The students will be brought directly to a facility for medical support and screening. They will then be met by university representatives who will bring them to accommodation that has been arranged.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Further and Higher Education, and a number of universities have all been working over the summer months to get the students out of Gaza.
On Monday, the students received a message they will have been hoping for for some time. "Ireland is still working to secure the necessary approvals for you to depart Gaza. While there might be a possibility of departure on Wednesday 27 August, this is not yet confirmed", it stated.
"You may be asked to move at short notice, but we will make every effort to ensure you have adequate time to reach Deir Al Balah before sunset on Tuesday. For those located in Gaza City or Northern Gaza, for safety reasons please do not move south towards Deir Al Balah until we have confirmed that you will be departing."
The message went on to give detailed directions and safety advice. For those coming from Northern Gaza to the central meeting point it advised that they should travel on foot only; "The IDF have been clear that they will target vehicles that they see approaching the Netzarim Corridor on this coastal road", it said.
"The Israeli authorities have advised that the following personal luggage is permitted" it continued, outlining one small soft handbag, personal documentation, medication and a mobile phone and charger.
"Gold and electronic devices (including laptops) are not permitted, and will be confiscated during security inspection", the message read.
On Tuesday morning a second message of confirmation arrived. This was the green light for the students.
RTÉ News has been in contact with one of the students over the past number of weeks. Asem Al Jerjawi will study journalism here. He has been working as a journalist in Gaza, documenting the impact of the Israeli onslaught on the people of Gaza.
Looking gaunt and exhausted on video calls, Asem, who is in his 20s described how he was working to try to secure accommodation for his family who expect to shortly be obliged to leave their already half destroyed apartment in northern Gaza. He was hoping to avoid tented accommodation with no sanitation because of his elderly grandmother.
He briefly showed me a destroyed wall of his apartment over which fabric had been draped and a battery they use to charge phones and provide some limited lighting. He sent a photo of the makeshift wood stove, made from a tin container, that the family are using to cook on.
Asem says that he has lost 20 kilos and described upsetting scenes of encountering dead body parts. But he said what haunted him most was the image of a bare chested 14-year-old boy wandering on the street and simply telling strangers "I am hungry".
"Life is now hunger", he said. "Starvation is not just a word. It is pain. Many nights I could not sleep not only because of the bombs, explosions and jets but because I am hungry. I am thinking 'I want to eat'."
The complex operation has involved coordinated action by a number of Irish universities including; SETU, TCD, UCD, UL and Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, University of Galway, Maynooth University, ATU, RCSI, TU Dublin and DCU.
In a statement Tánaiste Simon Harris confirmed that his department has been able to help 52 students to leave Gaza yesterday, with a view to commencing their studies in Ireland.
"With the arrival of this group, my department will have supported more than 200 people to leave Gaza and travel to Ireland since the outset of this crisis.
"Such travel is obviously dependent on receiving permission from various authorities in the region and sometimes this assistance is not possible for that reason. But I am pleased we are able to make a difference for these students on this occasion and I wish them well with their studies in Ireland."
Before he left Gaza, Asem told me that he had conflicting feelings. "I feel relief and hope that I might be safe, but also sadness and fear for my family and my community who must stay behind".
Fifty-two young Palestinians from Gaza are due to arrive in Ireland today and in the coming days to begin a new life as students in Irish universities.
