The son of a former Queen’s University researcher has told a Belfast rally that he has been unable to contact his father in Gaza for the past ten days.
Belfast-born Palestinian Khalid El-Astal, who has already lost his wife, mother and brother in the Israel-Gaza war, spoke of his fears for the rest of his family.
In October he spoke of his desperate attempts to get his wife and two young children to safety as chaos unfolded in Gaza.
In November he was reunited with his young children in Dublin Airport.
Khalid El-Astal vowed to look after his four-year-old son Ali and one-year-old daughter Sara in honour of his wife Ashwak Jendia who was killed in October.
The children left Gaza via Egypt with assistance from the Irish government.
Mr El-Astal (30) spent his early years in Belfast, attending Botanic Primary School as his Palestinian father studied at Queen’s.
A demonstration on Sunday saw thousands of protestors march on the US consulate to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, protestors walked 1.5 miles from Queen’s University to Danesfort House on Stranmillis Road.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire joined Mr El-Astal in addressing the large protest outside the base for US consular activities in the north.
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Khalid El-Astal grew up in Belfast while his father studied for a masters and PhD at Queen’s.
The academic went on to work there as a researcher for almost two years.
The family later returned to Gaza when Khalid was aged eight.
He told the Belfast crowd that his father has been unable to leave Gaza, despite possessing a visa.
He believes the 60-year-old is with his two brothers, who hold Irish citizenship.
“He lost his home, he lost his place, he was sheltering in a hospital, and now for ten days I don’t know where he is.”
Their family home and neighbourhood was completely destroyed by Israeli shelling in late October, killing many family members including his brother, mother and wife Ashwak Jendia.
The widower, who had been working in Saudi Arabia when the war began, was reunited with his two young children just last month.
The family now live in Dublin with some of his wife’s family.
Mr El-Astal told Sunday’s rally of his family’s pain.
“I lost my wife,” he said. “She is dead and all our dreams of being here together are gone.
“And my children will live the rest of their lives without their mom.
“I’m not telling you my story because I want you to feel sad about me.
“I want to tell you that there are thousands of people, if not millions of people now in Gaza, in a worse situation than me.”
Speaking afterwards to The Irish News, Mr El-Astal said his young family is extremely traumatised by the losses they have suffered.
“My daughter’s legs and arms are scarred by the burns.
“They are getting better every day. But they are still traumatised, it is very difficult for them.
“A lot of people have helped us.”
He said all contact with his extended family in Gaza had been lost.
“We are all very close to each other. I’ve already lost a lot of my cousins, but I don’t know where the rest of them are.”
The last time he spoke to his father, he was in hospital. He believes he may now be in the east of Gaza, close to the sea.
“He said please do anything to just get us out. He was begging me.
“He’s a very strong man, but he is in a very bad situation.
“He wants to be here, but I don’t know what else to do. I feel helpless.”
