A Belfast-born man who lost his wife, his mother and other family members in a bomb in Gaza has been reunited with his young children in Dublin Airport.
Khalid El-Estal vowed to look after his four-year-old son Ali and one-year-old daughter Sara in honour of his wife Ashwak Jendia who died last month.
The children left Gaza via Egypt with assistance from the Irish government.
They are among more than 50 Irish-Palestinian citizens and dependents who have travelled to Ireland with help from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.
“Finally we did it, but we lost a lot – we lost their mum and my mum and my brother,” Mr El-Estal told reporters at Dublin Airport.
“But it’s ok, we will be strong and I will take care of them.”
He thanked everyone who joined him at the airport and asked for his wife and family to be remembered.
Mr El-Estal had publicly appealed for help to get his children out of the war zone after five members of his family were killed in the same attack.
His wife, mother, brother, uncle and two cousins died in a bombing at an apartment block in Gaza.
Speaking to ‘s Sunday Sequence programme ahead of his expected reunion with his children, Mr El-Estal said he had “mixed emotions”.
“I can’t say that I’m totally happy,” he said.
“Of course I am excited and happy for them but I am thinking about my wife and how great it would be if she was with them.”