Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I again raise the situation in Israel and Palestine. I start by welcoming the release of four hostages and call for the release of all the hostages taken on 7 October by Hamas. I will focus on the increasingly dire situation in Gaza and once again call for a ceasefire and for Israel to act within international law. The drip feed of aid and the refusal by the Israeli state to allow fuel into the Gaza Strip have catastrophic consequences for the civilian population. We know one third of Gaza's hospitals are closed and more will shut within hours due to a lack of fuel. The WHO has said that if fuel is not delivered to the region, thousands of vulnerable patients are at risk of dying, including 130 premature babies, 1,000 patients dependent on dialysis and all those patients on life support. The UN has warned that the wards could turn into mass graves. The one and only oncology hospital in the region is only partially functioning. Beit Hanoun Hospital has stopped operations because of the heavy bombardment it is coming under. Children are being operated on without any anaesthetic and washing up liquid is being used to clean wounds.

All of this is taking place in front of our eyes. Not a single politician in the world can say that he or she does not know that this is happening. History will remember those who failed to condemn these actions and who did not do everything within their power to call for an immediate ceasefire. This includes the European Parliament, which failed to do so last week, and the US Administration, which has said that a ceasefire would only help Hamas.I would like to commend the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, on his very honest and forthright comments yesterday. There is a chilling atmosphere right now for those who dare to call for a stop to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. I hope that alongside using all of our diplomatic avenues to call for a ceasefire and an end to Israeli war crimes, that the Government will also resist any attempt to remove Mr. Guterres from his post, which we heard from the Israeli representative at the UN yesterday. People are being fired from their jobs for expressing political views. Tube drivers in London are being suspended. That is a very chilling atmosphere for anybody to be living in. We are a democracy and we believe in freedom of expression. I hope that the Government will stand solid with the UN Secretary General.