A senior government minister has said Israel seems to be “blinded by rage“, and peace in the Middle East can’t be built on the graves of children.
Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas has become “a war on children”, Minister Simon Harris has told the Dáil.
More than half of hospitals in Gaza are no longer functioning, the World Health Organisation has reported.
The UN body says 600 people remain in the al Shifa hospital as Israel’s ground invasion to defeat Hamas goes on around them.
Mr Harris said the Government will make “an additional financial allocation” to the International Criminal Court’s ongoing investigation.
The Fine Gael TD, who was covering Leaders’ Questions on Tuesday, said the Hamas attacks on October 7th were “despicable” and it had been condemned.
“It was an act of terror on the people of Israel, it should be condemned and of course, Israel had a right to defend itself,” he said.
However he illustrated how their actions have become entrenched “But that original right to defend itself has now become, in my view, a war on children and you cannot build peace on the mass graves of children.
“It is unfortunate that a country has become blinded by rage.”
Mr Harris said the Government are acutely aware of the need to support 400 Irish troops on peacekeeping missions in the region particularly as 40 Irish citizens remain trapped in Gaza as well as an eight-year-old Irish-Israeli girl currently held hostage by Hamas.
He added the Government had decided to make an additional financial allocation to the International Criminal Court “specifically in the context of the ongoing investigation into the situation in Palestine and in Gaza”, on the recommendation of the Tánaiste.
