Mr Alagha, from Blanchardstown, shared updates of each day life because the household had been trapped for 40 days beneath Israeli bombardment was talking in an interview with Virgin Media Tv at dwelling along with his spouse Hamida, and their three younger youngsters Sami, Omar and Eileen.
He thanked the Irish public for his or her help and for lobbying politicians to get Irish residents out of Gaza.
Mr Alagha tearfully recalled the second his household lastly handed by the Rafah Crossing into Egypt, the place they had been met by an Irish diplomat who gave them meals and water after rationing meals and water for weeks.
Mr Alagha mentioned: “There was this second that touched my coronary heart… I gave my son water to drink. He drank it and he requested me ‘am I allowed to drink extra?’ as a result of there have been guidelines in the home, he was not allowed to drink greater than a small bit. He requested me might he drink extra, I mentioned ‘after all, drink as a lot as you need’. That second. Oh my god.”
The household had been amongst about 30 individuals who returned from Gaza on a flight from Egypt to Dublin on Saturday night. They had been amongst 90 folks sheltering in his dad and mom’ farmhouse within the southern Gazan metropolis of Khan Younis.
Talking about whether or not he thought his household would survive the battle, Mr Alagha added: “Numerous nights, particularly the times when communications had been reduce off and Khan Younis had been closely focused, truthfully I used to be pondering I’d by no means make it to the following day. There’s some prayers that we are saying, I used to say them each single evening. I used to get all my household hugging one another and staying collectively. The sensation was that we both die collectively or reside collectively. That was crucial to me. I wished all of us to be collectively.”
And talking in regards to the affect of the battle on his youngsters: “My son Sami is essentially the most affected. We name it ‘scare shocks’. Some nights he [Sami, 8] was crying, he had a whole lot of nightmares… Normally, when there are a whole lot of bombings, we open the window a little bit bit so it would not break the home windows. He noticed that and obtained actually fearful of home windows. He’ll at all times steer clear of home windows. At all times. There was a narrative a few home that was beside an air-strike goal. The primary door was jammed. There was a fireplace and so they could not get out of the home. He was obsessive about conserving the door open. If we closed the door, he’d say ‘no! no!'”
Mr Alagha mentioned the expertise has been the strangest of his life.
“The final couple of days, I believe, is the strangest factor that would occur to anybody,” he mentioned “Being in a scenario the place you are feeling you are going to be killed at any time. You do not have water, you do not have meals, nothing… Now we’re right here in Eire. The love that I noticed from the folks and the demonstration with all of the folks exhibiting up. Wonderful, superb feeling. It is a week I am by no means going to neglect in my life.”
And he thanked the Irish folks for his or her help and maintaining strain to get Irish residents dwelling safely.
“It is very nice to really feel the love of individuals in direction of you. People who we by no means knew, even when we met on the road, we would not know one another,” he mentioned. “However figuring out that folks care. That is a very nice feeling. I actually want I might thank each certainly one of them. I believe with out their help, we possibly would not have seen this present day taking place… There was a whole lot of strain, and I felt that, from all sides about us folks in Gaza. I believe it pushed the Authorities to place all its weight in to attempt to try this. Thank God it did.”
Nevertheless, he has fears for his family members left behind.
“We’re actually blissful we’re out. However on the opposite facet, there are lots of people I do know I am not going to see once more,” he mentioned. “Numerous them. After we had been saying goodbye to one another, we did not discuss however we checked out one another. I felt there was a connection… a whole lot of phrases going between our eyes. I had this sense that they had been wishing they may very well be in our place; or that I might do something for them once I’m out to take them out of this too… Every single day I get up and I see new folks killed. A few of them I simply noticed days earlier than the battle. Some folks I had each day contact with, simply passing away. It is this sense everytime you see somebody (in Gaza): ‘am I going to see him once more?’… If I see somebody, I would simply say goodbye to him as a result of I won’t see him once more.”