Ireland has announced โฌ13 million in additional funding for humanitarian assistance for Palestinians, as the countryโs leaders called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Tรกnaiste Micheรกl Martin reiterated a call from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for a pause in hostilities to establish humanitarian corridors.
Mr Martin said on Wednesday: โThe Government has also made clear that we support an immediate humanitarian pause, or humanitarian ceasefire, to give space to establish humanitarian corridors to meet the immediate needs of all civilians in Gaza.โ
He was speaking during a session dedicated to discussing the conflict in the Dail parliament.
The speaker of the house, Sean O Fearghail said there was unprecedented interest in the issue: โI have never received as many communications, in respect of anything.โ
Meanwhile, as politicians debated the matter, hundreds of people staged a protest outside the Leinster House complex in Dublin.
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Gathering in the pouring rain, the demonstrators blocked the roadway outside the parliamentary buildings as speakers made demands for a ceasefire, a condemnation of Israelโs instruction for Gazans to move to south Gaza, and calls for the resignation of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Mr Martin, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs, said the Government unequivocally condemns the Hamas attack on Israel and that he had expressed Irelandโs condolences to the Israeli people.
โThe indiscriminate killing of civilians going about their daily life, the targeting of young party-goers at a music festival, the seizing of hostages, including children and elderly people. These are reprehensible actions.
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โI have been absolutely clear that all hostages, Israeli and international, must be released unconditionally. I have underlined that there is no justification โ none โ for such terror.โ
However, Mr Martin also told the Dรกil that Israelโs right to defend itself against attack must be done โwithin the parameters of international humanitarian lawโ.
โWater, electricity and fuel supplies into Gaza have been seriously disrupted. Hospitals are running out of power. People are running out of essential supplies.
โOver one million people were given an order to evacuate the north of Gaza by the Israeli military โ that is simply unworkable. Civilian deaths are increasing.
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โWe watched in horror the appalling strike on the al Ahli hospital in Gaza last night; hundreds of civilians โ patients, staff and those seeking shelter from aerial attacks by Israel โ have died.โWhile we do not yet know who was responsible for that strike, have seen all too clearly the anguish and pain that it has caused.
โLet us be unambiguous. As the UN Secretary-General has underlined, even wars have rules. International humanitarian law applies in all conflicts, in all circumstances, to state and non-state actors alike. It is not optional. It is obligatory. The protection of civilians is at its core.โ
The funding announced by the Government on Wednesday amounts to โฌ10 million in additional core funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides essential services to 5.7 million Palestine refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and an additional three million euro to the UN Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairsโ (UN OCHA) Occupied Palestinian Territories Humanitarian Fund.
It brings Irelandโs financial support to the people of Palestine in 2023 to โฌ29 million.
Mr Varadkar had earlier branded Tuesdayโs bombing of the al Ahli hospital in Gaza as an โatrocityโ but said an independent investigation was needed to establish who was responsible, while Mr Martin said the International Criminal Court would have a role in determining whether it was a war crime.
Hamas has blamed an Israeli air strike for the blast that claimed almost 500 lives.
However, Israel claims the devastation was caused by a misfiring rocket launched by Hamas militants and released imagery and communications intercepts it claims support that case.
During the Dail session, opposition politicians also called for a ceasefire.
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Sinn Fรฉin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the world was witnessing a โhumanitarian catastrophe in Gazaโ.
Ms McDonald said: โIsrael has unleashed the weight of its military might upon a beleaguered refugee population. They rain their arsenal of missiles down upon two million impoverished people hemmed into an area half the size of Co Louth.โ
She said Israel was imposing an โapartheid regimeโ in Gaza.
โOur hearts break for the loss of Israeli lives on that fateful night of October 7, but be very clear that the Israeli offences against Palestine predate that night of horrific loss which has been roundly and fully condemned.
โThat condemnation stands in stark contrast to the refusal and failure of our own government in Dublin and in governments across the European Union and the world to condemn Israeli violations of international law.โ
Ms McDonald said the increased funding to Palestinians did not relieve the Irish government of its โprimary responsibility to hold Israel accountableโ.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the world had been โshocked and horrifiedโ to see the unfolding violence in Gaza and Israel.
Ms Back added: โSince then, weโve seen the horrific escalation of violence and an increasing civilian death toll in Gaza.
โIsrael has engaged in clear and egregious breaches of international law which have brought about thousands of civilian deaths โ again of women and children โ in Gaza.โ
She said Israel โmust be called to account for war crimesโ.
Ms Bacik added: โIreland can play a significant role in seeking, crucially, that immediate ceasefire.โ
By Cillian Sherlock, PA
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