Taoiseach says Israel's Gaza blockade 'clearly constitutes a war crime'
Israel's fifty-plus-day blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza "clearly constitutes a war crime", the Taoiseach has said.
There must be an immediate resumption of unhindered humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, and at an unprecedented scale, as Gaza moves closer to a hunger crisis, Micheál Martin said.
"It is simply wrong, in principle and in law, to inflict hunger and suffering on a civilian population, whatever the circumstances," he told the Global Ireland Summit 2025.
"It is also wholly unacceptable to contemplate the mass displacement of people in Gaza or to talk of permanent occupation."
Speaking at the same conference at Dublin Castle, Tánaiste Simon Harris said Ireland would not stand idly by and allow Israel to continue to inflict suffering and starvation on the people of Gaza, saying the current blockade has left him "deeply appalled and sickened".
Humanitarian agencies operating in the region, including UNRWA, must be allowed to carry out their work unimpeded, and challenges to UNRWA's mandate must be resisted, he said.
"In the West Bank, settlement activity is rising, and Israel is conducting its largest military operation in 20 years, which has resulted in the displacement of at least 40,000 people," said Mr Harris.
Both Mr Martin and Mr Harris reiterated Ireland's position that a two-state solution is the only path to creating a lasting peace, and said Ireland would continue working with international partners to reach that goal.
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