Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for their attention and valuable contributions today. I echo the horror expressed by all Members at the tragedy enfolding in Israel and Gaza as we speak. I think I can say that the level of brutality and bloodshed we have witnessed over the past few days has left us all shaken. I restates that I unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas on Israel and the systematic targeting of civilians, including young children and the elderly. Unfortunately, as Senators will all be aware, a young Irish woman was killed in the first wave of the Hamas violence. The loss of Kim Damti is truly heartbreaking. I offer my sincere condolences to her family, who happen to be immediate neighbours of mine in County Laois. The family is from a village called Coolrain. I know many members of her family, but I did not know Kim or her mother personally. It is a tragedy felt right across Ireland. I also acknowledge the heartbreaking story of Emily Hand's father on television. All I can say is that it says it all. I understand that up to 28 members of the extended family of Yara Alagha here in the Oireachtas and her sister Lara have been killed in the past ten days so it hits all of us no matter where you are in the world.

As the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach have made clear, the actions of Hamas were vile and barbaric but we need to distinguish between Hamas and Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We cannot seek collective punishment of the civilian population for the crimes of Hamas. Over the past week, we have witnessed horrific bombardment of Gaza, which has left thousands dead and many more wounded. Over 1 million people were given an order to evacuate north Gaza by the Israeli military. This is simply not workable and impracticable. The number of civilian deaths is increasing. We watched the horror of the appalling strike on the hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night. Many civilians - patients, staff and those seeking shelter - have died as a result of that. The full facts must be established and those responsible must be held to account. We do not know the full facts on this issue yet.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by many Senators regarding the continued bombardment of Gaza. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people from attack but it is critical that this be done within the parameters of the law. International humanitarian law and the principle of proportionality exist for a very good reason. They are universally applicable for this reason. The overarching aim is to limit the inhumanity of war, including by protecting civilians. This has been the Tánaiste's message to all his counterparts in Europe and in the region with whom he has been speaking over the past week or so. It will be my message to my counterparts as well. However heinous the attack that prompted the right of self-defence, namely, the initial attack by Hamas on communities in Israel, we are obligated to protect civilians. Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are a breach of international humanitarian law. In the law of armed conflict, there is no hierarchy of pain and suffering. The rules of war exist to help humanity in its darkest moments. It is crucial that those rules are followed today. They are and should remain our compass to ensure we put humanity first. The rules are clear and apply to all sides in all conflicts everywhere - state and non-state armed groups alike.

Another key condition beyond the ongoing bombardment affecting civilians and the risk of further action is the lack of basic resources available to the civilians in Gaza as a result of the continued restrictions preventing necessities from entering the area. I have seen increasingly worrying reports in the past few days regarding the hardships faced by civilians in Gaza. The Tánaiste mentioned his call with the commissioner general of UNWRA, who has described the situation on the ground in Gaza as an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. I understand that many in Gaza are without access to the basics of water and electricity and that many hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes. We are seeing the terrible humanitarian consequences. Our partners in Gaza have informed us that the situation is dire and likely to worsen in the coming days unless aid arrives fast. I echo the Tánaiste's call for a humanitarian ceasefire and pause to allow aid to reach those who are now in desperate need in the Gaza region. Humanitarian corridors must be established as a matter of urgency in order that vital humanitarian assistance can be delivered to Palestinian civilians. It is extremely important that this happens immediately.

As Minister of State for international development, I am proud to confirm that it remains Ireland's firm stance that our support for those most vulnerable through the development and humanitarian activities in the occupied Palestinian territory must be maintained and increased. The support provides a crucial source for interim and longer term stability. We do not support the suspension of aid to the Palestinian people. Our assistance programme this year was to amount to €16 million. It will be almost double that after the Tánaiste's announcement yesterday of a further €13 million in light of the extensive needs in Gaza. Ireland's assistance programme to the Palestinians has been in existence since 2000. Only last week, I met 32 Palestinian students who are here to do a master's degree course under a fellowship programme and have just commenced a year of studies in Ireland. It is important that we maintain those links. This is happening every year and we are increasing the numbers. It is not just for Palestine. A group of about 160 arrived this year and the largest numbers attending on this occasion were Palestinian and Vietnamese. Our funding for this year amounts to €29 million and is more important than ever. This will continue. The support goes primarily through UN organisations such as UNWRA.

Ireland's support to the Palestinian people builds capacity through the provision of quality education and contributing to ensuring that human rights and accountability are upheld, that humanitarian relief is provided to those in need and that the needs of the Palestinian refugees are met. We all know the level of aid people in the Gaza Strip receive each year from international aid programmes, including our programme, is phenomenal compared with the level of income they have from their own resources. It must be one of the poorest countries in the world when you take that into account.

I am very glad to hear the announcement that the EU's humanitarian funding to Palestine will be tripled to a total of €75 million. Although the Commission is reviewing development assistance to the Palestinian people, I welcome its confirmation that no payments will be suspended while this review is ongoing. The review should be completed as soon as possible.

EU member states are united in condemning the Hamas attack on Israel and insisting that Israel's response must be within the parameters of international humanitarian law. This has been clearly outlined by all EU leaders. The EU has a key role to play. Our common foreign and security policy, which all member states share and are required by the treaties to implement, is based on the clear statement that the Union's actions on the international scene shall be guided by the principles of the UN charter and international law. Across the EU, every member state has issued statements of condolences to Israel and condemnation of the attacks by Hamas and we are united in this. The EU needs to achieve and be actively engaged in all international discussions to resolve this crisis. We can do this and can only be in any way relevant with a clear and unanimous message. We need to move towards de-escalation as early as possible.The potential for wider regional conflict is incredibly high. It is dangerous and must be avoided.

On 10 October, an extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, at which ministers unanimously condemned the attack and reasserted Israel's right to defend itself in line with international law, was held. The Tánaiste highlighted the protection of civilians as the most immediate priority, universal responsibility of proportionality and the need to consider humanitarian corridors and the continuation of humanitarian aid at this critical time. Ministers discussed the European Commission's review of development assistance to Palestinians and, as humanitarian access will be critical in preventing the loss of even more lives, the Tánaiste underlined the importance of ensuring access to humanitarian aid in Gaza. The issue of safe passage for some people in that area has been mentioned in this debate. The Senator can contact me later. I will not know the answer until I receive specific details. It is essential that UN agencies, most crucially the UNWRA, are not part of any review being carried out and that they continue with the life saving work they can do in Gaza.

There is a significant level of public interest in this crisis - we will all be surprised by that - as evidenced by the solidarity marches in many cities across the world. It is appropriate that the Oireachtas should also express itself on this matter. I was impressed by one person I listened to this morning on social media, namely, Mohamed Salah, who is a famous Egyptian soccer player. His message was simple: stop the killing and let the relief supplies through. More than 130 million people have listened to that message this morning already. It is good to see civil society and people who are in a position to influence others being so clear and upfront in what they say about this. As we all know, one of the first casualties in every war is truth. We have all seen a lot of misinformation on social media. It is good to hear someone in his position commenting. Perhaps some of the people who listen to him do not listen to debates in houses of parliament and it is good that message is being delivered clearly across the world.

I do not know whether the up to 500 members of the Defence Forces who are in Lebanon on UN peacekeeping missions were mentioned much in the debate. We have a strong tradition of peacekeeping. Since we became involved 60 years ago, there has not been a single day when there were no members of the Defence Forces on missions as part of our peacekeeping tradition. They are respected in many places around the world. We acknowledge the work they have done in this area over many years and hope that, in due course and as soon as possible, they can get back to normal activities. There is a heightened awareness about their security and we thank them for their work.

There has been a deep emotional reaction to the scenes we have witnessed. The Government will continue to support our citizens on the ground and call for a humanitarian pause, for the de-escalation of the crisis and for work towards a just and lasting peace.