‘A vibrant young woman radiant with hope and joy’: tributes paid to Irish-Israeli woman Kim Damti (22)

Further tributes have been paid to Kim Damti, the 22-year-old Irish-Israeli woman who was confirmed dead on Wednesday. She had been missing since a Hamas attack on an outdoor music festival at the weekend in Israel, near the Gaza border.

Ms Damti, who lived in the Israeli town of Gedera but had often spent summer holidays in Ireland, had been among the scores of young people missing following the attack by Hamas militants.

Friends and family, as well as the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and President Michael D Higgins, were among those to pay tribute to her on Wednesday.

Fianna Fáil TD for Laois-Offaly Barry Cowen paid tribute to Ms Damti on Thursday, telling Newstalk Breakfast that it was “devastating news” for her family in Co Laois. Ms Damti’s mother Jennifer is from Portlaoise.

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“We’re thinking of them and we’re respecting their calls for privacy and sending them our prayers,” he said.

Mr Cowen described the attack by Hamas as a “revolting act of terrorism” and said he “hopes that peace will eventually prevail”. He told Newstalk Breakfast that it was “hard to comprehend” that some TDs had not condemned the attack by Hamas on the music festival. The “first priority of international reaction” should be to ensure the safety of those impacted within the Gaza Strip presently, he said.

“And I would hope that the powers that be within the UN and the EU will act and insist on that being the case.”

The chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, Maurice Cohen, also extended condolences on Thursday on behalf of the Jewish community in Ireland to the family of Ms Damti. “Although I never had the privilege of knowing her personally, the photos that I’ve seen online depict a vibrant young woman radiant with hope and joy. Her adventurous spirit comes through, and the zest for life there were evident,” Mr Cohen said.

“It makes it all the more devastating to think of her life being taken away by terrorists,” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland. ”It just underscores the urgent need for peace and the inherent value of human life.”

Ms Damti was one of five siblings and her funeral is due to take place in Gedera on Thursday afternoon.

Some 1,200 people were killed and 2,700 wounded when Hamas militants breached a border fence around Gaza to attack neighbouring communities in Israel, leading Israel to declare war on the militant group based in Gaza.

Retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed 1,100 people and wounded 5,339, according to Palestinian officials.

‘Serious war crimes’ - Robinson

Meanwhile, Former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner Mary Robinson has described the Hamas attacks as serious war crimes. They were not justified by what had been happening to the Palestinian people under occupation, she told RTÉ radio’s News at One.

“It does not justify the horrific killings and the kidnappings which are war crimes. And we must be very, very clear on that and we must not be ambivalent. And there is no question we have to treat them separately. These are war crimes. And I want to talk about accountability.”

Mrs Robinson said she had been very glad to hear US President Biden say that Israel must comply with the rules of law.

“There are rules of law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law. And already, sadly, Israel is in serious breach of its obligations. It is carrying out a massive, indiscriminate bombing of Gaza. So civilians are suffering, 1,200 have been killed already in the last few days. And I don’t know how many are injured. And on top of that, there is the siege and blocking food and fuel and electricity and water. That is a war crime.”

When it was pointed out that the Israelis were claiming the blockade was to ensure the release or recovery of their citizens who had been taken hostage, Mrs Robinson, said the situations could not be compared.

“This is collective punishment against a whole population, many of whom don’t support or don’t like Hamas. It completely has to be dealt with on its own, cannot be in some way a bargaining chip or something. We also need much more protection of civilians.

“We should be talking about at least if the bombardment continues, safe havens, if the ground troops go in, safe havens for civilians, and also we must have humanitarian aid go in. And I am very glad that the EU has spoken very clearly about this and spoken about continuing to support UNRWA and humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian.”