Tributes have been paid to 20-year-old Palestinian footballer Muhammad Khalifa, who visited Ireland twice in 2016 and 2017.
Khalifa was killed alongside seven members of his family during an attack by Israeli armed forces on the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Khalifa travelled to Ireland as part of a charity trip as part of Gaza Kids To Ireland organised by Gaza Action Ireland.
He experienced a lot of Irish sport during his trip playing with Al Hilal FC. He played a match at Ballybrack FC. He travelled to Nenagh as well in 2016. He also attended a Galway United v Dundalk game in 2016 and a Shamrock Rovers v Derry City game in 2017.
During both visits to Ireland, he met President Michael D Higgins.
Speaking to Tim O'Brien in the Irish Times, President Higgins spoke fondly of meeting of Khalifa.
The young Palestinian players that came were all in touch afterwards to say how much their visit to Ireland had meant to them and how anxious they were to stay in touch with the soccer community who had been their hosts in Ireland.
I would once again appeal to the international community to address the issue of how, by alleging that a refugee camp may contain a terrorist, one has the right to demolish entire homes and, in this case, kill a young person and his family
Zoe Lawlor of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign was involved in the trips that brought Khalifa and other children from Gaza to Ireland. She told RTE yesterday:
"We just had a lovely time with them while they were here, and they loved Ireland."
She also spoke of the extreme hardship that people in Gaza have had to endure over the past 14 months, since Israel began its onslaught in response to the October 7 attack.
"Everyone I know there is dealing with multiple losses and grief, it's really horrendous. At least 50 or 60 killed every day in Gaza and that usually means extended family.
"It's just devastating the scale of loss."
According to the United Nations, 70 percent of the "verified deaths" in the first six months of Israel's war in Gaza were women and children
