Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)

The ongoing conflict in Gaza risks igniting a much wider regional war, an outcome that would be profoundly tragic and destabilising. Gaza remains an open wound festering and poisoning relations, not just between Israel and Palestine, but also between Israel and much of the international community.

Ireland has made the situation in the Middle East a central foreign policy priority and we remain firmly committed to advocating for a sustainable peace through the realisation of a two-state solution. That a population can be bombed or starved into peace is both morally indefensible and practically impossible. It entrenches a deep collective memory of trauma and persecution among the Palestinian people, which will guarantee that the cycle of violence continues. We in Ireland understand from our history that violence begets violence. When a population is brutalised, the next generation inherits a legacy of grievance and defiance.

Let me be clear that the attacks on 7 October were abhorrent but the Israeli military response has been grossly disproportionate and counter-productive. It has not secured the release of hostages. It has not brought long-term security to Israel. Instead, it has deepened the suffering, radicalised a new generation and pushed peace further out of reach. Israel's ongoing operations in Gaza and the West Bank appear to be a systematic rejection of the two-state solution.

In Gaza, relentless bombing, forced displacement and starvation are creating a humanitarian catastrophe. Conditions are now both physically uninhabitable and psychologically unbearable. In the West Bank, government-sanctioned illegal settlement expansion further undermines the viability of any future Palestinian state. This cannot be justified on security grounds. It appears to be ideological. A war is being prosecuted against a largely defenceless population. More than 60,000 people have been killed, including a shocking proportion of women and children. Civilian infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and UN premises have been repeatedly targeted. A recent Israeli strike on a seafront café which served as one of the only public Wi-Fi hubs left in Gaza killed 20 people. It was one of the last functional windows for local journalists to report on the crisis. Foreign press access to Gaza remains banned. When witnesses are silenced, truth is removed.

The ceasefire and hostage deal brokered in January offered a fragile, but real, hope to both Israelis and Palestinians and I am glad to hear the Government is calling on all parties to return to serious talks to secure a comprehensive agreement. The United States has now reported that Israel has agreed in principle to a 60-day ceasefire. President Trump has urged Hamas to accept it, but detail remains uncertain and Hamas has yet to respond, although it has indicated willingness to free hostages under the right terms. For its part, Israel has previously insisted that the war will not end unless Hamas is dismantled. These positions must be reconciled if peace is to have any chance. I urge Hamas to respond constructively. Lives depend upon it. A ceasefire is not a surrender. It is a lifeline. It is also an obligation under international humanitarian law when civilians are suffering on this scale.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is beyond desperate. The Red Cross has warned that Gaza's remaining public hospitals are either shut or gutted after months of hostilities and supply shortages. UN and other humanitarian workers must be protected at all times as they carry out their life-saving work. Civilian infrastructure, including schools, medical facilities and UN premises, must never be military targets. There must be an immediate large-scale resumption of humanitarian aid. The trickle of aid currently getting in is a drop in the ocean. People are walking tens of kilometres in search of food, only to be met with gunfire. Israeli soldiers quoted in a Jewish newspaper, Haaretz, claimed they were ordered to fire on aid seekers even when they posed no threat. The IDF denies this but the allegations are credible and deeply concerning.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was hastily created to replace the respected UNRWA, has failed. More than 170 NGOs have called for it to be dismantled. It lacks the experience, transparency and infrastructure to deliver aid safely. The death toll from Israeli attacks at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, GHF, distribution sites now surpasses 500 people. These were innocent people queueing for food. They died not in battle, but in desperation. I support international calls to dismantle the GHF and reinstate reliable humanitarian channels like UNRWA. We must have experienced, effective, secure infrastructure to deliver aid.

I am proud of the stance Ireland has taken. Since January 2023, we have provided core funding UNRWA. We formally recognised the State of Palestine on 28 May 2024. We have evacuated sick children and families to Ireland for medical treatment. We have deployed significant diplomatic resources to push for peace and the restoration of international law.

We will soon introduce legislation under the occupied territories Bill reflecting our obligations under international law.

This crisis has been further complicated by the escalating tension and war between Israel and Iran. I fully support the Government's view, and that of the EU, that Iran must not develop nuclear weapons but this must be achieved through negotiation and not confrontation. Iran asserts the right to peaceful nuclear energy. Israel has a right to security. They are not mutually exclusive. I deplore the repressive regime in Iran and its abuse of human rights, particularly against women, but we must not let this distract from the catastrophe in Gaza.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has warned for over 30 years that Iran is on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon, yet that threat has never materialised. We must be cautious of rhetoric that fuels endless war. It would be deeply regrettable if the Israeli Prime Minister's motive in prolonging hostilities in Gaza and Iran was contrived to avoid legal prosecution in Israel.

I urge the United States to adopt a more assertive role, not just in brokering a ceasefire, but in guaranteeing it. The world cannot continue to look away. The suffering of Gaza's civilians, the ongoing displacement and the deliberate targeting of essential services all point to a man-made disaster, a disaster that in the eyes of many, including our Taoiseach's and mine, meets the definition of genocide. Ireland's voice alone will not end this war. We are a small country but we speak with moral clarity, guided by our history, values and commitment to international law. I stand by those calling for peace, justice and the protection of innocent lives.

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