Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Khaled Kamal Abdel Aziz Rashwan was 34 years old. Rose Ramez Amin Hassouna was 21 years old. Samir Rajab Muhammed Al-Saafin was 62 years old. Amr Mostafa Amin Nofal was 12 years old. Maria Amjad Majed Abu Odeh was five years old. Fatima Muhammad Ali Abu Omra was 91 years old. Janan Hamed Nasser Al-Astal was one year old. Every single person that has been killed in Gaza has a name, a face and a story. They were people with hopes and dreams for the future they have been robbed of. The slaughter of innocent people in Gaza by Israel has been nothing short of shameful for humanity. The lack of a response from the international community has also been shameful. We need Israel to face real consequences for its savagery. The impunity of the State of Israel must end. The Israeli Government and military must be held to account for the murder of innocent civilians.

The Social Democrats Party has unequivocally condemned the horrific and brutal murder by Hamas of 1,400 people and the kidnappings of 7 October - the Taoiseach's attempts yesterday to suggest otherwise were disingenuous and misleading - but these do not in any way justify the ongoing horrific attacks on the civilian population. A total of 25,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 100,000 have been reported wounded, missing or killed in Gaza since Israel began its military offensive. More than 1 million people are starving in Gaza and 2.2 million are at imminent risk of famine, a situation that has never occurred in the history of this planet in respect of a war of just four months. There is a lack of clean, safe drinking water and sanitation. The public healthcare system has collapsed. Schools, universities, hospitals, refugee camps and UN facilities have been targeted. All the while, senior members of the Israeli Government have made repeated statements of genocidal intent. The destruction has been so extreme that, as the South African case notes, Gaza is now a different colour when viewed from space. The President of Israel, Mr. Isaac Herzog, is among those Israelis who write handwritten messages on the bombs being dropped on and murdering civilians in Gaza. On 13 October, the then Israeli Minister of Energy stated, "We will win. They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave the world." This was a comment from a member of the Israeli Government. A former Israeli army general, Mr. Giora Eiland, stated, "Gaza will become a place where no human being can exist." These are the words coming from the Israeli military and the Israeli Government.

Ten children are losing one or more limbs per day. UNICEF has called this a war on children. A total of 350,000 Palestinian homes in Gaza have been destroyed, representing 60% of its entire housing stock, and 61 hospitals and healthcare facilities have been damaged or destroyed with weapons supplied by the US.

The South African case reads:

Large numbers of Palestinian civilians, including children, have reportedly been arrested, blindfolded, forced to undress and remain outside in the cold weather, before being forced on to trucks and taken to unknown locations. Medics and first responders, in particular, have been repeatedly detained by Israeli forces, with many being detained incommunicado at unknown locations.

I will ask our Government just one question. What on earth is it waiting for before it says it will join South Africa’s case and take every possible action to call out what is happening in Gaza?

See this speech in context