Taoiseach condemns Israeli strike as Gaza deaths near ‘grisly milestone’ of 40,000

By Cate McCurry, PA

The Taoiseach has said that this weekend brings the “grisly milestone” of 40,000 deaths in Gaza “a step closer”, as he condemned an Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter.

Around 80 people were killed in the strike on the school in central Gaza City, which also left another 47 people injured, Gaza’s health ministry said.

Simon Harris said there is growing evidence of a “prolonged humanitarian catastrophe”.

The Fine Gael leader said he is “particularly disturbed” by a confirmation from the United Nations that the number of aid deliveries reaching Gaza has halved, from a daily average of 169 trucks in April to fewer than 80 trucks a day in June and July.

“The Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs also says that only 24 of 67 planned aid missions to northern Gaza this month have been facilitated by Israel,” Mr Harris said in a statement.

“The United Nations has also assessed that more than 80 per cent of the Gaza Strip has been placed under evacuation orders since October of last year.

“When people are told to leave, they have nowhere to go, so they often go to schools.

“Some 490 of Gaza’s schools have been bombed or damaged since the start of the war, and this weekend’s images from inside al-Taba’een school are gut-wrenching. Ireland condemns outright such awful and wholesale loss of civilian life.

“A ceasefire remains urgently needed, and all sides must immediately work in good faith to bring one about.

“We have all been horrified by the many undoubted war crimes that have been committed in Gaza. There can be no impunity. Those responsible must be held to account.”

Mr Harris said that all the legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice must be implemented in full, which called for an end to its “illegal” occupation of the Gaza Strip.

“Too many innocent lives have been lost in 10 months,” Mr Harris said.

“The world is standing at the precipice of a horrific moment, and yet all levers to bring an end to the violence are not being used.

“I again call for an urgent review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The agreement contains human rights clauses, and I do not believe it is conscionable for the EU to continue to render them redundant.

“Ireland calls for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of Israeli hostages, and for aid trucks to flow unimpeded.”