Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

The nightmare in Gaza is worsening day after day, hour after hour. There is no water, no food, no fuel for the hospitals, no electricity and no basics. The bombs are raining down at an increasing intensity. In the last 24 hours more than 700 people have been killed, bringing the total to over 5,000, including more than 2,000 children. It is really a sick joke to have 15 trucks entering Gaza when on a regular day 500 trucks would be going in. The starvation policies of Israel continue. This may be about to get even worse. It may be unimaginable to people that it could be worse but it could be even worse. There are huge numbers of Israeli troops on the border getting ready for a ground invasion. The defence minister has told them that they will soon see Gaza from the inside. This would mean not thousands of civilian casualties, but tens of thousands. It would potentially mean a new Nakba, a new displacement, forcing people out of their homes permanently - or attempting to do it permanently - for more than 1 million people if not more than 2 million people.

I do not know if the Taoiseach remembers but 20 March 2003 was known as Day X. It was the day the war on Iraq started. People right across the country, in schools, colleges and in work, walked out in protest and went to the city centre to protest. We will need to do the same again if there is a ground invasion and head to the Israeli Embassy and demand the ambassador is expelled.

See this speech in context