Moate family from Gaza launches appeal to evacuate relatives from war-torn area

A couple from Gaza who are living in Moate have launched a fundraising appeal to help evacuate relatives from their war-torn homeland and bring them to safety.

Mohammed Skaik is originally from Gaza, and lived there for 20 years before making the move to Westmeath in 2015.

He and his wife, Hadil Skaik, have since become Irish citizens and are the parents of three children.

Last weekend, they launched a Go Fund Me fundraiser in a bid to evacuate relatives of theirs who are still living Gaza.

These include Hadil's mother and father, two sisters of hers, and her neice, as well as Mohammed's brother-in-law and his nieces and nephews.

"These two families are displaced in the south and are in a very miserable condition," Mohammed told the Westmeath Independent this week.

"They need medicine and it is not available to them. The water is not suitable for drinking and there is no food. If they do not die from the military bombing, they will die from hunger."

Hadil stated that the ongoing war in Gaza "has caused immense suffering and devastation, with families being torn apart and homes being reduced to rubble.

"This conflict has tragically impacted my family, where they fled their home which was demolished during this conflict."

She said the fundraiser was being organised to evacuate family members "out of Gaza and move them safely to another country where they can find peace."

Donations can be made on the Skaik family's Go Fund Me page here, and at the time of writing 25 people had made donations amounting to €720 in total.