
Irish politician detained again by Egyptian authorities
His partner has urged the Irish deputy premier to intervene in the case.
Paul Murphy, a TD (MP) for People Before Profit-Solidarity, had been detained on Friday while attempting to march to the Rafah crossing into Gaza as part of a large demonstration to deliver aid into the blockaded enclave.
He was one of a number of Irish people who were expected to take part in the march.
The opposition politician said his phone and passport were confiscated before he and others were put on a bus to Cairo airport, where they believed they would be deported.
All Irish people who were detained were then released but some did not have their phones returned.
On Monday, Mr Murphy went to a police station in the Egyptian capital to retrieve his phone.
People Before Profit said this was done on the advice of the Irish embassy.
He then sent messages from the station that he was concerned that his passport had been taken again and was told he could not leave.
He then attempted to leave, but the party said he and others have been prevented from doing so.
'I have been detained in the Abdeen police station in Cairo,' the party quotes Mr Murphy as saying.
'On the advice of the Irish embassy, I went to the station at 12.30pm Egyptian time to enquire about my phone that they took.
'They took my passport again, had me talk to the secret police and left me in a room with an interpreter. They claim they are looking for my phone.
'I just attempted to leave but they said that I cannot leave. I understand that other march participants have also been detained.'
Mr Murphy's partner and Dublin councillor Jess Spear has appealed for the Irish Government to intervene.
'I appeal to Tanaiste Simon Harris to intervene urgently with the Egyptian authorities,' she said.
'The Tanaiste must ensure that Paul and all the Global March to Gaza participants are released, have their passports returned and are allowed to continue their humanitarian mission to try and get aid to the people of Gaza.'
The Global March to Gaza is a civilian movement that aims to march from Egypt to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and increase pressure so that vital supplies to the besieged region are unblocked.
A blockade on Gaza was imposed by Israel when it ended a ceasefire with Hamas earlier this year.
This has deepened fears of famine, while a new Israeli-US aid system has been marred by violence.
It comes as Israel's 20-month military campaign in Gaza continues, during which an estimated 55,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza after Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages on October 7 2023.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
How the wife of Hamas leader 'The Butcher' fled Gaza on a fake passport after his assassination - and then remarried in Turkey
The wife of the architect of the October 7 terror attacks has been dramatically smuggled out of Gaza and is now living a new life in Turkey with a new husband, according to explosive reports from Israel. Samar Muhammad Abu Zamar, widow of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas military commander who was killed by IDF forces in October 2024, allegedly escaped the war-torn enclave using a fake passport and carrying 'significant sums of cash'. Sources in Gaza told Israeli news site Ynet that Abu Zamar remarried in Turkey just months after Sinwar's death, in a wedding and relocation operation overseen by Hamas political bureau member Fathi Hammad, long linked to smuggling fighters and their families out of the Strip. The claims come as footage from 2024 resurfaced showing Abu Zamar walking through a Hamas tunnel just hours before the October 7 massacre - carrying what appeared to be a designer handbag. Although officially unconfirmed, the story has been widely reported in Israel. An Israeli security official told Ynet that Abu Zamar, along with Najwa Sinwar, the wife of Mohmmed Sinwar - who succeeded his brother as Hamas chief after his death - both crossed into Egypt through the Rafah crossing using forged documents. 'She's no longer here - she crossed through the Rafah border using a fake passport,' a source said of Abu Zamar, saying the escape required 'high-level coordination, logistical support, and large sums of money that regular Gazans don't have'. The revelations have sparked fresh outrage among ordinary Palestinians, many of whom remain trapped in Gaza after 19 months of relentless war, while the families of senior Hamas figures reportedly live in comfort abroad. 'They send their children to study in Turkey and Qatar – and send ours to the grave,' one Gazan civilian said. 'What makes them different from any corrupt ruler in the Arab world? They only look after themselves'. Hamas, which styles itself as the vanguard of Palestinian resistance, has long been accused of exploiting the suffering of its own people while sheltering its leadership and their families overseas. The Islamist group's military network has been shattered since the October 7 attacks, with only one senior commander, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, believed to still be alive. Abu Zamar's former husband, Yahya Sinwar, was assassinated in October last year after being hunted by intelligence services and the Israeli Defence Forces for over a year. Ultimately, his assassination was seemingly by chance, with the group of trainee soldiers responsible for the Hamas chief's death not knowing his true identity at the time, according to reports. Israeli officials have said the 61-year-old - who has long been dubbed the Butcher of Khan Younis - was killed after he emerged from the underground tunnel network where he had been hiding. A unit from the IDF's 828th Bislamach Brigade was patrolling Tal al-Sultan, an area of Rafah, when it came across a group of three Hamas fighters in the street and engaged them in a firefight. The terrorists were 'on the run' moving from house to house, the IDF said, and became split up. One of them, since identified as Sinwar, 'ran alone into one of the buildings'. He went up to the second floor, and troops responded by firing a tank shell in his direction. The unit, made up of trainee infantry commanders and reservists, then began to sweep the area, according to Israeli reports from the time. Two grenades were thrown at them, one of which exploded while the other failed to go off. The troops decided it was too dangerous to proceed and pulled back, sending in a mini drone to trace the fleeing fighter instead. Dramatic footage released by the IDF showed the bloodied Sinwar, his face concealed by a scarf, throwing a stick in a final attempt to defend himself against the drone just seconds before he was assassinated. Two 120mm tank shells slammed into the building, as well as a surface-to-surface Matador missile, with shrapnel scything across the upper floors and killing Sinwar. Unaware they had taken out Israel's prime target, the soldiers did not return to the site until the following morning, when soldiers from the 450th Infantry Battalion were sent in to get a closer look. As they inspected the dead, they realised one bore a striking resemblance to the Hamas leader. Graphic images emerged of his corpse lying on the rubble surrounded by Israeli soldiers, while close ups showed a catastrophic head wound and multiple injuries. He was found with a weapon, a flak jacket and 40,000 shekels (£8,250). 'Yahya Sinouar had a lot of cash and fake passports on him, he was ready to flee,' Israeli army spokesman Colonel Olivier Rafowicz told French outlet CNEWS. He claimed that the items Sinwar had on him, which allegedly also included a card from UNRWA, the UN aid for Palestinian refugees, 'may show that he was ready to flee and leave Gaza and his men behind.' Booby traps around the area meant the corpse had to be left in place, but part of one of his fingers was removed and sent for testing. Confirmation of his death took several hours, with multiple tests carried out, and his identity eventually confirmed with dental records and fingerprints. Four hours after it confirmed it was investigating whether the Hamas leader had been killed, the military issued a simple message on social media: 'Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar.' Pictures show Israeli troops carrying a body, believed to be Sinwar's, out of the destroyed building on a stretcher. Recently, hostage talks have stalled, reportedly due to the difficulty of even reaching Hamas's scattered leadership in Gaza. But despite occasional deadly ambushes on Israeli troops, Hamas is no longer capable of large-scale coordinated operations, analysts have said.


Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Syria to sign 44 agreements worth nearly $6 billion with Saudi Arabia
July 23 (Reuters) - Syria will sign 44 agreements with Saudi Arabia estimated to be worth at nearly $6 billion, Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Moustafa said on Wednesday. He spoke at a press conference as Damascus hosts a Saudi-Syrian investment conference attended by a top Saudi business delegation.


The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Afghan translator who worked for US military detained by Ice in Connecticut
An Afghan wartime translator granted a US immigration visa after risking his life to help US troops has been detained by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, in the latest sign that the Trump administration is willing to flout legal agreements and promises to allies in pursuit of its unprecedented immigration crackdown. Identified only as Zia S, the 35-year-old husband and father of five who entered the US in October 2024 with a visa issued by American authorities was arrested and taken away in a van last week after a routine biometrics appointment for his green card in East Hartford, Connecticut, according to his attorney, members of Congress and human-rights advocates. A judge has issued a temporary stay preventing Zia's removal from the US, but he remains in detention at a facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The former wartime interpreter fled Afghanistan with his family after the Taliban takeover in 2021. Zia legally entered the US in October 2024 through New York's JFK airport with humanitarian parole – and an approved special immigrant visa (SIV). This visa is a pathway to permanent residency, or a green card, for certain foreign nationals who have worked for the US government or military in specific capacities, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'What happened to him is the worst kind of abhorrent violation of basic decency,' said the Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Tuesday. 'He actually worked and risked his life in Afghanistan to uphold the values and rights that are central to democracy.' Zia is the third known Afghan ally who helped US troops to have been seized by Ice since Trump returned to power, amid growing outrage at the administration's actions. Jahana Hayes, a Democratic member of Congress for Connecticut, said she had been contacted by Zia's family because they didn't know where Ice had taken him. 'Our credibility is at stake. We have families who have risked everything not just for themselves, but for their entire family … in the name of standing up for the promises of our American democracy,' Hayes said. In a statement to Reuters, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the Afghan national entered the US on 8 October 2024, and is under investigation for a 'serious criminal allegation', adding: 'All of his claims will be heard by a judge. Any Afghan who fears persecution is able to request relief.' Zia's attorney Lauren Petersen said she had no idea what the DHS was referring to. 'Zia has done everything right. He's followed the rules. He has no criminal history,' said Petersen, adding that he was approved for humanitarian parole due to a direct threat from Afghanistan's Taliban rulers. 'If he is deported … he faces death.' Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion More than 70,000 Afghans were granted permission to enter the US under Joe Biden's 'Operation Allies Welcome' initiative, which followed the bungled US exit and subsequent Taliban takeover in 2021. Some, like Zia, have a SIV and pathway to permanent residency, while about 12,000 or so have temporary protected status (TPS) – a type of work visa granted to people already in the US who cannot return to their home countries due to armed conflicts, natural disasters or other extraordinary events. The Trump administration is seeking to terminate TPS status for multiple countries including Venezuela, Haiti and Afghanistan – despite ongoing unstable and dangerous conditions in those countries.