No evidence that Irish citizen was injured in Gaza ship raids, says Martin

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has today cast doubt on reports that an Irish citizen was injured during the recent attacks on aid ships in Gaza.

Minister Martin was briefing the Dáil on the current status of Irish citizens involved in the incident, adding that of the seven confirmed Irish in the flotilla, two have agreed to immediate deportation, with the remaining housed in a detention centre in Beersheva.

“There was an early report on one Israeli TV channel that the injured included one Irish person, and this was later repeated by various media,” said Minister Martin in the Dáil today.

“We do not have any information to confirm this, and enquiries by the Embassy with the hospitals treating the injured have been negative. So we do not have any reason to believe that there is an Irish person among the injured.”

Four Irish citizens were known to be on the Challenger I, which was intercepted and taken into Ashdod.

Three Irish citizens were aboard another vessel, and one further citizen, a dual national, was reported as having possibly joined the flotilla among the large Turkish contingent, “but this has not been confirmed and may not be correct”, said Minister Martin.

“Of the seven confirmed Irish involved, two were taken to Ben Gurion Airport, having signed declarations agreeing to immediate deportation, and are awaiting deportation today. They were visited this morning by Ambassador O’Reilly, and their families have been informed.

“The other five were being processed for detention prior to later deportation, and were taken to a detention centre in Beersheva, as part of some 600 or more persons detained on the ships.

“As I came to the House, I received a report that the Irish Embassy had managed make a consular visit to these citizens, and my Department is now passing this information on to their families. I will receive a fuller report later.”