Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

We are witnessing the annihilation of Gaza. Already, tens of thousands of lives have been claimed. Those who have not been killed are essentially living in a hell on earth. Some 85% of the population have been displaced, the healthcare system has disintegrated and men, women and children are being starved and dehydrated.

Some are warning of a famine in Gaza but there is no famine. There are trucks filled with food and essential supplies within metres, stuck in Egypt. The reality is that the Israeli Government is using starvation as a weapon of war. It is massacring, torturing and brutalising a civilian population in full view of the world. The Minister's response was that we are calling for a ceasefire. What is happening is an impending genocide. Last week, the Government could have taken a strong stance against this. Ireland had another chance to match its rhetoric with actual action.

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