Over 50 young Palestinians to arrive in Ireland today to study at Irish Universities
The Department of Foreign Affairs has been working for months to secure their safe departure
Over 50 young Palestinians from Gaza are due to arrive in Ireland today and over the next few days to study in Irish Universities.
The 52 young people who's lives have been turned upside down following the Israeli occupation, will begin new lives in Ireland after what has been a very complicated and sensitive operation to get them out.
The students have travelled through Jordan and Turkey after securing permissions from Israeli authorities to leave Gaza and travel through Israel.
All of the students, who will arrive on three commercial flights today and in the coming days, applied to Irish Universities and got accepted, although they were unsure whether they would even make it here.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Further and Higher Education, and several universities across the country have been working tirelessly to make this move happen.
The first flight carrying around 27 students will arrive in Dublin later this afternoon and the students will be brought to a facility for medical support and screening before meeting their university representatives who will accompany them to their accommodation.
On Monday, the 52 students received a message the message they were hoping for,
"Ireland is still working to secure the necessary approvals for you to depart Gaza. While there might be a possibility of departure on Wednesday August 27, this is not yet confirmed.
"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 students then received another message on Tuesday morning confirming their departure.