Talks on release of Hamas hostages are 'fraught' and 'fluid', Micheál Martin says

Emily Hand is believed to be one of the hostages held by Hamas

Negotiations for the release of hostages held by Hamas, including Irish-Israeli citizen Emily Hand, are “fraught” and “fluid,” Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said.

Mr Martin said his department is working with authorities in both Egypt and Israel with a view to getting Irish citizens out of Gaza. 

There are up to 40 Irish citizens, including children, in the under-siege enclave. 

Up to 8,000 foreign nationals are trying to get out of Gaza and up to 1,800 have been successful getting through the Rafah border crossing. 

The Tánaiste said: "We are quite some distance from all those getting out, or indeed even 30%."

When asked if he thought Ireland’s strong condemnation of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza may be impacting Irish citizens getting out of Gaza, he said: “I think it’s far too early to be drawing those kinds of conclusions.

“There are a lot of moving parts here. There are complexities here. It's not a simple issue, given the logistics and the level of conflict that's there.

“One has to be careful about this. I wouldn't be drawing any conclusions. I think we need to be very careful in any commentary to that effect,” he added.

Mr Martin said he spoke with the Egyptian foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, late on Tuesday night regarding hostages in Gaza and said it was a “traumatic” and “sensitive” situation. 

It’s understood he raised Emily Hand’s case with Mr Shoukry.

He said the Irish Government continues to engage with countries regarding Hamas hostages and Emily Hand.

He told the Irish Examiner: “We continue to engage with others in the region.

“We spoke to the Egyptian foreign minister last night and the situation is very fluid in respect of hostages, it’s very fraught.

“There are a lot of moving parts at the moment. In terms of the hostages question, we believe all of them should be released but we’re particularly focused on Emily Hand and we maintain contact with the family through the ambassador.

“We’re very conscious of their requirements and the trauma they are going through. There are Irish civilians, up to 40, that we want to get out of Gaza and there’s the need to have a humanitarian ceasefire to get humanitarian aid and supplies into Gaza,” Mr Martin added.

Mr Martin also insisted that Ireland is not anti-Israel and said he is not sure what the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, meant when she accused Ireland of not being “politically neutral” when it comes to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The Tánaiste said Ireland does take a stance on international issues, including the war in Ukraine, but stressed that the country is military-neutral.

In the Middle East, Ireland supports the UN position of a two-state solution for Israel-Palestine.

He said Ireland has been sympathetic to the Palestinian right to a homeland and that there had been successive Israeli governments who have verbally advocated for a two-state solution.

“I’m not clear as to what the ambassador means. We’re not anti-Israel, I would stress that," he said.

“But we do look at issues like the Middle East through the prism of international law, through the UN resolutions, and we’d be down the middle on the Israel and Palestine conflict.

"We’ve been fair about it, we believe the only solution is a two-state solution and that shouldn’t be controversial. I would hope the Israeli ambassador could be supportive of a two-state solution,” Mr Martin said.

Meanwhile, a group of Irish politicians has been invited to a private lunch with the Israeli ambassador on Wednesday.

It is understood that a number of members of the Ireland-Israeli Parliamentary Friendship Group will take up the invite from Dana Erlich to dine in a private dining room at the Shelbourne Hotel.

However, some members of the group will not attend, with some discomfort being expressed at the timing of the meal.

On Tuesday, Ms Erlich accused the Irish government of "not being politically neutral".

Ms Erlich told reporters that she had seen persistent criticism towards Israel from Ireland, and said there had been a “specific, targeted campaign” against her here.

“We’re on another front trying to deal with anti-Israel hatred,” she said.

Ms Erlich also claimed that the Jewish and Israeli community in Ireland are concerned for their safety, amid the response to the war in Gaza.

Fianna Fáil senator Ned O'Sullivan who is a member of the group declined to comment about the event specifically but said that there is antisemitism in Ireland.

"There is antisemitism in Ireland. It is the most ancient, primordial urge - to blame the Jews - and I would ask some of those protesting to examine why they're there."

The group was established by Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghaille last year and is chaired by Fianna Fáil senator Aidan Davitt. Mr Davitt could not be reached for comment.

Parliamentary groups are common across the Oireachtas and Irish politicians have previously met with members of the Israeli Knesset. It is understood that the groups have not met in some time, before the outbreak of violence in Israel and Palestine.