Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

Looking at what happened to an ambulance and all its crew travelling through Gaza, I wonder what the response of the IDF would be to an humanitarian corridor, but everything needs to be tried. Listening to the contributions of both the Government and the Opposition this afternoon, it is worth pointing out that many of the statements from both sides of the House could be construed as antisemitic according to the IHRA definition to which this Government signed us up. While every effort must be made to stamp out antisemitism, the IHRA definition must not be used as a pretext to criminalise activism against genocide, as has been seen in some parts of Europe and the US.

There are more than 53,000 dead in Gaza now, the majority of them women, children and the elderly. Nine aid tracks were allowed to enter Gaza on Monday. This is a trickle when we need a flood and is only permitted so that Israel can turn around and say it is letting supplies in. It is cynical and callous but it is predictable. There are 2 million people starving in Gaza and that is not an accident. They are being starved just as surely as they are being bombed. The people of Gaza are being denied access to food, water and medicine. What shelter they can cobble together from tarpaulins and sheet metal is woefully inadequate. Far from the lies and smokescreen surrounding the first attack on the Gazan hospital in October 2023, Israel is now deliberately targeting medical facilities and storage areas, such as at the Nasser hospital, which had half of its precious reserves of medical supplies destroyed.

The Israeli Government has said there will be no let-up and no negotiations. Some countries, such as Britain, Canada and France, are only now discussing possible targeted sanctions against named Israelis. This is hardly enough. If Ireland and the wider EU do not take concrete action now, we are giving carte blanche for the levelling of Gaza and its resettlement by Israel. This is not an exaggeration. This is the stated wish of Netanyahu. As a state, Israel must be held accountable for its action and for the wanton destruction and brutal violence that has rained down on the heads of Gazan children.

See this speech in context