Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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154. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to layout his intention to advocate for the release of health workers from Palestine currently detained in prisons in Israel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59801/25]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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155. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will advocate for the release of a person (details supplied) that is currently detained in an Israeli prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59802/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 154 and 155 together.

The Government expressed our deep concern at the attack carried out by the Israeli Defence Forces on 27 December 2024 targeting the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, during the course of which Dr Hussam Abu Safiya was detained. As noted by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in his report of 31 December 2024, the pattern of Israeli attacks on Gaza hospitals throughout the conflict in Gaza raises grave concerns about serious crimes under international law. Ireland continues to monitor developments in this case and calls for Dr Abu Safiya to be afforded urgent access to his legal team.

The World Health Organisation has warned that Gaza’s health system has been systematically dismantled over the past two years. The WHO estimates that nearly 42,000 people in the Gaza Strip have life-changing injuries caused by the ongoing conflict, one in four of whom are children.

Ireland recently provided an additional €6 million in humanitarian aid for people in Gaza (including €1 million to the World Health Organisation) following the ceasefire. This new contribution brings Ireland’s support for the people of Palestine since October 2023 to more than €89 million, and support in 2025 to over €35 million.

It is in these appalling conditions that humanitarian and medical workers continue to bravely carry out their duties.

Ireland is clear that hospitals must never be militarised or targeted. Deliberate targeting of health facilities is a violation of international humanitarian law. Humanitarian workers must be protected at all times as they carry out their life-saving work.

I commend the bravery of the doctors, nurses, paramedics and other healthcare professionals who continue to risk their own lives to provide life-saving care in Gaza. Likewise, I note with admiration the continued advocacy of healthcare workers in Ireland for their counterparts in Palestine. Ireland, including through our Representative Office in Ramallah, will continue to monitor developments in relation to this case. Ireland continues to call on Israel to comply with international law, stressing the universal applicability of international law, including international humanitarian law.