An Irish-Palestinian man who escaped Gaza says his family has been given a new lease of life after fleeing the conflict zone.
Speaking to RTÉ’s News at One, Aymen Shaheen said life could start all over again for him and his family as the past number of weeks were hell in Gaza, with bombings and water and food shortages.
"We feel that we start our life again. We were in the grave and we just left the grave and we re-start our life.
"It is the unbelievable feeling that you will start your life because we escape from such nightmare," Mr Shaheen said from his Cairo hotel room.
Mr Shaheen, his wife Suha, their 19-year-old daughter Rawan and 12-year-old son Ibrahim left via the Rafah crossing to Egypt yesterday.
He is now awaiting the arrival of his 80-year-old mother who did not make it through the Rafah crossing today.
He is hoping she will get through tomorrow.
Mr Shaheen added he was happy to be returning to Ireland but was sad for the millions of Palestinians remaining in Gaza in fear for their lives.
"It’s a feeling of contradiction. We are happy to be outside of such a hell. This is a devastating war and it is sad to leave relatives and friends."
Mr Shaheen praised the Irish Government and the Department of Foreign Affairs for the efforts to get Irish people out of the conflict zone.
Embassy representatives and officials met Mr Shaheen and his family at the Egyptian border and in Cairo.
This morning he said he was informed by government officials that while flights to Ireland will be paid for, it will need to be reimbursed in the future.
Mr Shaheen also said his family faces homelessness in Dublin because they have no place to live.
He lived in Dublin up to last summer but had left his home to move to Gaza.
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