Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

More than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October. Some 1,400 people were killed in Israel on 7 October and 200 Israelis remain as hostages. Approximately 4,000 children have been killed in Gaza, now at a rate of one child being killed every 15 minutes. We have seen 90 UN workers and 40 journalists killed so far. Aid has been reduced to a trickle on purpose. Gaza was surviving on 500 trucks a day and now only 1,000 trucks have been allowed in since the start of this particular war. Food, water and fuel are being withheld from civilians and from hospitals. Hospitals, schools and refugee camps are still being bombed and attacked.

Today, it has been reported that a main hospital in Gaza is burying its patients in mass graves. A doctor in the hospital stated that the bodies are littering the hospital at the moment and because there is no electricity left in the morgues, they have to bury these bodies as soon as they can. We have been told by the same doctor that seven children and 29 patients who were in intensive care are now among the dead because of the lack of energy.

Only a small number of people are getting out. Many Irish citizens are desperately seeking to leave but are not being allowed. That is totally unacceptable. We cannot have a situation where other people from other countries are gaining their freedom from this open-air prison and yet Irish citizens are being held in that area.

The shocking attacks on 7 October by Hamas were horrendous acts of terror and should be condemned wholeheartedly. The level of murder and manslaughter that Israel is carrying out now on a daily basis is also a horrendous act of terror and should be condemned wholeheartedly by the international community. I believe these attacks are war crimes and that Israel must be held to account for these attacks. Let us be honest. These attacks and murders are not happening in an international vacuum. They are being facilitated by the US and in part, by the leadership of the EU. In truth, many countries have given a licence to Israel to act in this manner. The leadership of the EU and the US have, in reality, signed a blank cheque in support of Israel. The EU response is particularly ignorant because it grossly distorts the foreign policy position of many countries such as Ireland.

I have spoken to the ambassador for the Palestinian National Authority to express my deep shock and horror at what is happening to the people of Gaza. I have also requested a meeting with the Israeli ambassador. A meeting has been agreed but a date has not yet been provided. I will say that many Irish people have a sympathy for Israel.

Many people know its history and understand that the Jewish people have suffered unimaginably, not only in the Holocaust, but in pogroms throughout the world in practically every century in the past thousand years. Many also understand the deep fear that is felt by Israeli citizens in a region where they have many neighbours who seek to eliminate them. However, no historic wrong can justify the killing of 5,000 children or the pounding of an open-air prison half the size of County Louth. The truth of the matter is that even if Israel kills every last Hamas fighter, its actions will simply lead to deepening bitterness and hatred in the area. That hatred will infuse another generation with the will to fight against Israeli occupation. Israel may not realise that the level of murder and injustice it is involved in is sewing the seeds of hate and vengeance that will cause great damage to Israel in the future. Its actions are wrong in many ways and they are also counterproductive to Israel's objectives. The Israeli Government is destabilising the whole region.

The Government has stated it will not seek the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador because Ireland could be an interlocutor for peace in the future. I asked the Taoiseach whether the Government has yet made any effort to offer Ireland as a facilitator, mediator or interlocutor for peace. He said "No". Earlier, I asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science whether the Tánaiste will offer Ireland as a facilitator or mediator for peace during his trip to the Middle East, and he said "No".

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