Taoiseach Micheál Martin has condemned Israel’s blockade of food and humanitarian aid to Gaza, stating, according to RTE, that it “clearly constitutes a war crime.”
In a keynote address at the Global Ireland Summit in Dublin Castle, the Fianna Fáil leader called for an immediate end to the situation, criticizing the ongoing actions, reports RTE.
Martin described the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel as “horrific and unjustified,” according to RTE. However, he labelled Israel’s subsequent “brutal” attacks on Palestine as equally unjustified, asserting that the blockade of food and aid is a war crime, RTE reports.
“The horrific and unjustified attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, has been followed by the brutal waging of war by Israel in Gaza that has inflicted appalling suffering on Palestinians in Gaza while increasing tensions in an already damaged and fragile region,” Martin said, as reported by RTE.
He continued, per RTE: “There must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of all remaining hostages and the resumption of unhindered humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and at an unprecedented scale.”
Martin further noted, according to RTE: “It has been over 50 days since food, medicines and other essential supplies have not been allowed enter Gaza. Israel’s continuing humanitarian blockade is pushing Gaza closer to a hunger crisis. This must be lifted immediately.”
“It is simply wrong, in principle and in law, to inflict hunger and suffering on a civilian population, whatever the circumstances. This behaviour clearly constitutes a war crime,” he added, as quoted by RTE.
He also stated, per RTE: “It is also wholly unacceptable to contemplate the mass displacement of people in Gaza or to talk of permanent occupation. Not only is it an affront to decency and to international law, history tells us it offers no solution.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris expressed being “deeply appalled and sickened by Israel’s continuing blockade of humanitarian aid in Gaza,” speaking at the Global Ireland Summit, according to RTE. He called for an end to the violence in the occupied Palestinian territory, RTE reports.
Meanwhile, four more children from Gaza were medically evacuated to Ireland, arriving in Dublin from Egypt on a Norwegian Government-provided plane, reports RTE. Accompanied by immediate family, they are the second group to receive healthcare treatment in Ireland, following eight children in December, reports RTE.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill welcomed the group alongside Ambassador of Egypt Mohamed Sarwat Selim and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the State of Palestine Baker MB Hijazi, according to RTE. She expressed pleasure in Ireland’s role in treating children affected by the conflict, RTE reports.
Niall O’Keeffe, Head of International and Migration at the Irish Red Cross, told RTE’s News At One: “We are supporting them with accommodation, and then supporting them in their engagement with the medical services and other State agencies which they need to engage with over the next number of weeks.” He added that while no fixed date exists for additional arrivals, more families are expected in the future, according to RTE.
