Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The international community must support the call by the UN Secretary General for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The United States has an obligation, as Israel's main partner, to persuade it to stop the bombing of Gaza. The collective punishment of the people of Gaza is a gross violation of human rights. The people of Gaza are being killed, wounded and traumatised without respite. This must be condemned without reservation. A ground invasion of Gaza will only bring more chaos. The immediate opening of a humanitarian corridor to allow desperately needed supplies to enter Gaza must be a priority.

I condemn without hesitation the brutal and murderous Hamas attack on Israel. The mass murder of civilians, the taking of hostages, and their abduction into Gaza are beyond horror. The taking of hostages is condemned in the Koran. The international community must demand the release of hostages without preconditions. There needs to be urgent mediation by Arab states and the other parties to bring about the release of the Israeli hostages.

In 2009, I visited Gaza as part of an EU mission. This was after the attack by Israel, which lasted more than 20 days. Some 1,440 people were killed, 350 of whom were children. White phosphorous, which burns not only the skin but right into the bone, was used. Cluster munitions, similar to an IRA nail bomb, were used. There was no reprimand from the international community. That was 14 years ago and nothing has changed since.

When will we see the stopping of bombing? The last time around, it was always more than 1,500 or 2,000 people killed. Will it be 10,000, 20,000 or 30,000 people this time? We need to call a halt at this stage to what is currently occurring there. The size of Gaza should be remembered. It is the distance from Cork to Youghal, or 41 km long and 10 km wide, with 2.3 million people locked in there. It can be imagined how we would react if 2.3 million Irish people were locked into that small block of land.

In this time of crisis and great danger, we must not give up hope. The pursuit of justice and peace must never be abandoned. We must always choose life over death.

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