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

I ask the Taoiseach to condemn in the strongest possible terms the massacre and slaughter of civilians at the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza. Under the guise of rescuing hostages, of whom four were rescued but another three killed, almost 300 people were killed. It seems clear that war crimes were committed here, including the war crime of perfidy. Soldiers hiding in a supposedly humanitarian truck is obviously a war crime precisely because it places other humanitarian aid workers in danger as it gives rise to the thought that they could be forces from an opposing side.

The UN special rapporteur of the occupied Palestinian territories said Israeli forces were, "perfidiously hiding in an aid truck", and "This is 'humanitarian camouflage' at another level." It appears that US forces were directly involved with the IDF, which reported that "the US hostage cell played a decisive role in freeing the hostages". It appears at least likely that this port, supposedly built to bring humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, was used in some way in this massacre. It needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

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