Irish Family Stuck In Lebanon War Appeals To Irish Govt

An Irish family stuck in Lebanon war appealed to the Irish government to “Take us from here”. The Irish family has called the Irish government to support them in getting out of the Israel-hit region.

The family was in shock after yesterday’s airstrikes from Israel against the Hezbollah fighters group. Lebanese authorities confirmed the death of 492 people and thousands were injured. Several have been in constant attempts to flee the country for the safety of their families.

(Also read:Lebanon Confirmed 100 Deaths And More Than 400 Injured from Israeli Strikes)

The Zabad family is one of those trying to get out of the war-stricken area. They came to Lebanon to attend Mr Zabad’s father’s funeral but now are stuck.

Mr Zabad, 53, his wife Ghada, 47 and their two children including a daughter, 24, and son, 12 arrived in Lebanon two weeks ago.

Mr Zabad said, “We came to Lebanon and we are stuck in a war zone. As an Irish citizen I am asking my government to see how they can manage to take us from here. Other countries are doing it for their people”.

Their daughter, Ghadir got engaged to Ali Kachab and was about to meet her in-laws to celebrate with their future son-in-law in the city of Nabatieh.

They were taken aback to see everyone fleeing in a hurry from the Nabatieh area as they were escaping to Beirut. The Zabad family had to do the same.

Ghadir explained that they saw everyone closing their shops and running for their lives to leave the city. “It was overwhelming”, Ghadir added when they witnessed everyone upset about their homes being left behind and not wanting to move to another area.

The Irish family stuck in Lebanon war also observed that the journey to Beirut was stressful and risky itself. They could understand how those people were feeling in such dreadful times.

Experiences of the Irish family stuck in Lebanon war

Ghadir observed that people were crazy as accidents were frequently occurring on the roads. The accidents were due to the people’s hurriedness to get away with their families. Ambulances were trying to come and go with the bombs being in the sky every now and then. “It was a complete chaos”, Ghadir expressed.

Ghadir was also disappointed in Israel’s intentions to target the Hezbollah group only as it was clear that they are openly targeting innocent lives “who have absolutely nothing to do with Hezbollah…and they’re just trying to live their lives”.

The Irish family also got to know soon after landing in Lebanon that a close relation was killed in bombing attacks on Monday. Ghadir and her family are desperately calling for help from the Irish government to bring them back to Ireland.

She added that she would like to see her fiance as he is a Lebanese national and needs to get out of the war zone with them soon.

She clearly put her stance forward to the Irish government that she would also not leave her fiance if he was unable to travel to Ireland with her.

Several airlines, including Qatar Airways and Air Arabia, have suspended their scheduled flights for the next two days that were meant for Beirut.

The Department of Foreign Affairs explained that they are trying to resume contact with the citizens and know about their current status. It would help them in registering them within Lebanon and reiterate their travel advice for them. The department assured that the Embassy in Cairo is in regular contact with Lebanese citizens.

There are direct instructions from the Department of Foreign Affairs for the Irish citizens stuck in Lebanon that they need to register with the Embassy of Cairo. The contingency planning needs their identification to make preparations for a possible consular crisis that would result from the intensification of the Lebanon war.