Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We are not aware of any basis for that rumour. The best information we have on the tunnel is that it was started over a year ago and that construction on it had stopped over two months ago. In other words, construction had stopped at a particular time so we are not sure how long the Israelis knew it was there or what function it was going to serve.

What is life like in Gaza? I would have thought that life was worse when I was there after Operation Cast Lead, which destroyed so many buildings. At one factory, one could see where the tyres of the tanks had destroyed the equipment after the factory had been blown up.

They also made sure that all the equipment was destroyed. Schools and hospitals had been damaged and, while there was not a sense of immediate destruction, there was a real sense of poverty. As fuel was in short supply, there were few vehicles on the road and donkeys were to be seen carrying goods. There was also a sense of malnutrition and inadequate food security. When I spoke to people working in NGOs and UNRWA, they clearly explained that the situation was dire. The Chairman asked about Gaza City.