"Dr El-Astal, who is a former researcher at Queen's University, Belfast, has a slightly torn passport. It was damaged during the October 2023 airstrike that also killed his wife, Hanaa. The family are refusing to leave him behind, stating they need the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to also evacuate Ali to Ireland. They feel unable to leave him alone amid the bombings and famine."
"In a document prepared by the family for the DFA, the family states: "The remaining family will not leave Gaza without their father, Ali. They are currently living together, displaced in a tent, all supporting each other to find their basic needs for survival each day. "They are now at a very high risk of dying... The El-Astals are being told the Palestinian Authority refuses to issue any further passports."
""The DFA knew for some time that Ali's passport was damaged and Khalid [Layan's uncle] was told it would not cause an issue. "If it was flagged as an issue earlier, Ali El-Astal would most likely have been able to get a passport replacement long before the Palestinian Authority's notice on February 19 that they would not issue new passports.""
Three-year-old Layan El-Astal is an Irish citizen in Gaza with her mother Roba and Belfast-born uncles Abdullah and Abdurrahman. Her father Majed was killed in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023 along with other relatives. Grandfather Dr Ali El-Astal survived but his passport was slightly torn in the same strike that killed his wife. The family are displaced in a tent, facing bombings and famine, and refuse to leave without Ali. The family say the Palestinian Authority has stopped issuing passports and that the Department of Foreign Affairs had been aware the passport was damaged but did not resolve it before the February 19 notice.
Read at Irish Independent
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