Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail)
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I will be brief because the witnesses have answered a lot of the questions from my colleague. I thank all of our witnesses for coming in today and taking the time to come into the committee. It is really interesting and great to get first-hand information on what is happening on the ground with the humanitarian crisis. Obviously, we are all listening to and checking our phones to see if there will be a some sort of truce, but there is no news yet. The death toll and the numbers of children in Palestine and Israel who are affected by this has given all of us nightmares. It seems like it is close to home and it has really shaken our own communities given the lack of humanity on the whole for both sides. It is really upsetting.

We saw a huge number of Irish citizens pass through the Rafah crossing last week. It shows the importance of diplomatic relations. This was really evident. It is hoped as part of this truce that we will see Emily Hand released. We hope she will be in the first group of hostages. Obviously, we have to 100% condemn the brutal attack on 7 October that started this current part of the conflict. The humanitarian loss and disaster on the ground is horrendous. We wake up every day and check our phones to see if there has been any sort of ceasefire and if it is going to stop.

We really hope we will see some movement. We listen to stories of people coming back, who have been held captive by Hamas or Palestinians, who have crossed the border and how they have left family behind. The Irishman who was interviewed said he cannot believe he is now in Egypt and his kids can eat what they want, drink what they want and sleep how they want, something we take for granted here. I cannot imagine telling my children they can have only one cup of water a day. It is just horrific.

I thank Mr. MacSorley for trying to keep Darfur on the agenda. It is so hard because there is obviously a physical war going on but then there is also this pretend social media war whereby people try to put their war forward to gain support for aid and donations. It is really unfair because black lives matter. This is a war happening in Africa. It has been going on for some time. There is huge loss of life. It is a huge crisis. We have heard first-hand evidence at this committee in the past year about the situation in Darfur, yet when we open our phones it is not the first thing we see or the first thing our friends share. Our friends are all sharing material relating to Israel and Palestine, but it is really important to hear Mr. MacSorley today. I hope his comments get some traction among the Irish public because it is important we show support in the face of humanitarian crises all over the world, not just the ones on social media at the moment. Every child matters.

I thank the witnesses again for coming in to us.