The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has spoken to the Prime Minister of Qatar about the case of Emily Hand.
The nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl is believed to be among a number of Hamas hostages and was previously assumed dead.
Her father Thomas Hand was originally told by Israeli authorities that his daughter was killed in the Hamas attack on October 7th; however, the authorities now believe Emily is still alive.
They have informed her family they believe she was most likely abducted and is being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Mr Varadkar his nation is aware of the case.
He also told the Taoiseach that children will be a priority in any negotiated release.
Talks are underway in Qatar to try to secure a three-day ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of some hostages.
Mr Varadkar had discussions with Emily's father Thomas and sister Natali at Government Buildings in Dublin last week.
Emily HandMr Hand previously told Newstalk it was “very difficult to initially learn that she was dead”.
“But then to find that she was actually kidnapped... it’s actually even worse news than knowing she was dead,” he said.
“There’s a finality to death; we were grieving and as hard as grieving for your daughter is, knowing she’s in Gaza in those awful tunnels is awful," he added.
Mr Varadkar has also previously raised the case of Emily Hand with the Palestinian Prime Minister, the Egyptian Foreign Minister and Prince Rashid of Jordan.
Meanwhile 28 critically-ill babies have been evacuated to Egypt after Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital was raided by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Monday's evacuation was coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
⭕️PRCS: The evacuation of 28 premature infants to receive medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
This was coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
الهلال الأحمر الفلسطيني: إجلاء 28… pic.twitter.com/uHNB4PnxBS— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 20, 2023
On Sunday, 31 out of 36 premature babies were evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital to a neonatal intensive care unit of a maternity hospital in Rafah.
The remaining five babies had died in previous days due to the cut off of electricity and fuel.
Another 259 patients who were unable to evacuate remain in Shifa, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
The WHO has described the Al-Shifa Hospital as "a death zone".
The UN chief António Guterres has said the the world is witnessing an "unparalleled and unprecedented" level of civilian death in the conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.
“This is what matters. We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I have been Secretary-General," he said.
Addressing how the region can move forward once the fighting stops, Mr Guterres said that it was "important to be able to transform this tragedy into an opportunity.
"For that to be possible, it is essential that after the war we move in a determined, irreversible way to a two-State solution", he said on Monday.
"It means also that after the war - and this is my opinion - I believe it to be important after the war to have a strengthened Palestinian authority to assume responsibilities in Gaza."
Latest reports from health authorities in Gaza indicate that more than 13,000 civilians have died since the October 7th terror attacks by Hamas, and subsequent Israeli offensive.
According to the UN agency UNRWA, more than 880,000 internally displaced have sought shelter in 154 of its installations across all five of Gaza's governorates.
Out of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, 1.7 million are now displaced and 104 UNRWA staff have been killed.
Additional reporting: Tom Douglas
