The Tánaiste’s convoy was forced to make an emergency stop on route to Jerusalem amid an air raid warning.
The convoy was forced to stop for five minutes on the side of the road.
The Tánaiste’s car has a hard protective shell so he did not have to get out, however, his officials who were travelling directly behind had to get out of their bus and hunkered at the side of the road in protective gear.
Speaking after arriving in Jerusalem, Mr Martin said the savagery of the October 7 attacks were “beyond his comprehension”.
“There was a football in the ditch, kids playing, people having their daily meals, and suddenly this savage attack. That’s all how one can describe it. I was shown photographs of mutilated bodies, people killed and it is horrific what happened.
“As a human being, I can’t comprehend that type of inhumanity.
“For us life is precious and how people could take life in such a savage way is beyond my comprehension,” he said.
Mr Martin said he had been told that the majority of Irish citizens in Gaza will be evacuated in the next three days.
On his meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Mr Martin said: “I thanked him for the work that he’s been doing in respect of getting Irish citizens out of Gaza and he gave me assurances that the majority of our citizens will be out of Gaza within the next three days.
“And we know that there’s some coming out today although there has been a delay in respect of the processing side,” he said.
Mr Martin said he wasn’t sure how those delays would impact on foreign nationals coming out of Gaza.
