A Mayo man trapped in Gaza is hoping to escape the warzone safely when the Rafah crossing to Egypt opens to Irish citizens.
Saeed Adli Sadeq, 21, whose family home is in Bohola near Swinford, is studying computer science in Gaza City and is the son of writer and former Palestinian diplomat Adli Sadeq.
Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said he is waiting for confirmation from the Department of Foreign Affairs that Irish citizens are allowed to leave before travelling to the crossing.
He said: "The Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv and in Cairo, they did not delay in performing their duty towards me as an Irish citizen.
"They did not stop communicating with me since day one.
"The problem is they have no official confirmation or information about when Irish citizens will be able to leave Gaza.
"From my opinion, it's all about the countries and their political relationship with Israel and Egypt.
"Also, from my point of view, Ireland is a small country so I think we would get to leave after the big countries like Germany, America, France and Belgium."
Mr Sadeq said he is nervous about waiting to leave because the Rafah crossing was closed for so long before it opened up to foreign nationals.
He added that because of fuel shortages, he could be forced to travel by horse from Khan Yunis - the city that he recently moved to from Gaza City where he was studying computer science.
"I would ride a horse to get to the border. Actually, there's no other transport way. There's no fuel. There's nothing. All the fuel is going to the hospitals, which is the priority," Mr Sadeq said.
He added that once he makes it to Egypt, Irish officials will meet him at the border.
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He said: "I have been told that officers from the Irish Embassy in Cairo will be waiting for us at the Egyptian side of the border.
"I think the plan will be to get us safely out from Gaza and then we deal with the rest ourselves."
Once in Ireland, Mr Sadeq plans to travel home to Mayo from Dublin Airport.
He said: "I will be travelling back to Ireland to see my family, to see my friends, to see my neighbours and of course, to take a break and maybe to go to a therapist. I need a therapist to be honest from what I have seen here in Gaza.
"So I will go back to Ireland hopefully soon to my family and just to relax from what I have seen here. Of course, I can't wait to see my family back in Co Mayo.
"I'll just take the bus from Dublin Airport, bus number 22, which is eight minutes away from our house in Bohola," he told Morning Ireland.
Speaking about the war in Gaza, he said a family member had died.
"It's not safe here in Khan Yunis, to be honest. There is no safe place here in Gaza. Safe does not exist.
"There's bombs everywhere. Air strikes. There was an air strike five-hundred metres away from my house," he said.
"Everybody here in Gaza lost something. I know many of my friends who lost their houses in the north. I know people who lost their families and personally I lost my cousin.
"He was a good young man. He was working as a barber to help his family with money and for himself to get married. He was killed and murdered by an Israeli airstrike," he added.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement last night that "it is working to ensure all Irish citizens are able to leave Gaza as soon as possible".
It added that it "is not in a position to comment on the detail of individual cases - it would not be helpful to do so".
In a new statement today on the situation in Gaza, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "There are an estimated 8,000 foreign and dual nationals and immediate dependents in Gaza who are seeking to leave.
"The evacuations are being managed country by country on a phased basis. It will take some time for this process to be completed.
"Irish citizens are not included in today's list, but we continue to urgently seek to have Irish citizens included on the list in the coming days.
"Our embassies in Cairo and Tel Aviv are in regular communication with the authorities in Egypt and Israel.
"We also remain in ongoing communication with Irish citizens on the ground."
