Kilkenny’s Mayor says the sooner the Irish who are on pilgrimage can be evacuated from Israel, the better.
50 people of various ages are visiting Nazareth, eight of whom are from Kilkenny with another person who has family in Carlow.
Their plan was to depart yesterday (Tuesday) but it’s understood the flight was full so there were moves to get them out tomorrow (Thursday) instead.
However, that flight is in doubt.
Cllr Joe Malone has been liaising with some of the group and outlines some of what they’re experiencing, telling KCLR News; “I was speaking to my contact earlier in the afternoon and there was some shelling in around Tel Aviv as well, just hope for the safety of the Irish people and all the people involved and our Irish troops that are over the border in Southern Lebanon, hope that they can be evacuated either by air or by sea and the sooner that happens the better”.
While his colleague, Cathaoirleach of the county council Cllr Michael Doyle, says “It’s a hugely worrying time for obviously those eight over there at the moment but their families here as well, it must be an awful time on them to not know they can get out into safety and hopefully the Embassy and groups and organisations are doing everything in their power to get them to safety and to a near country or back home to Ireland”.
