Tánaiste Micheál Martin issued a statement today, Wednesday, November 1, after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombed the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Gaza, injuring and killing civilians.
"I am deeply shocked by the high number of casualties following the bombing by Israel yesterday of the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza," the Tánaiste said in a statement today.
"Ireland has made clear on many occasions that Israel’s right to defend itself must be within the parameters of International Humanitarian Law.
"This means that the principles of distinction, necessity, proportionality and precaution must be upheld in the conduct of hostilities and that civilians must be protected.
"UN Secretary General Guterres has been clear that international humanitarian law cannot be applied selectively. The law of war always applies.
"UNRWA said yesterday that more children have been killed in Gaza since 7 October than have been killed in all conflicts globally since 2019. We cannot allow this to continue.
"This has to stop.
"With the unfolding tragedy in Gaza, the European Union has been calling since last week for humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs.
"We now urgently need a humanitarian ceasefire and a significant scaling up of humanitarian access to get vital supplies to civilians. We cannot wait any longer."
My statement on the situation in Gaza pic.twitter.com/ZMCH54CLJ9
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) November 1, 2023
The IDF said on Tuesday that it killed Ibrahim Biari, the Commander of Hamas' Central Jabaliya Battalion, "as part of a wide-scale strike on terrorists and terror infrastructure belonging to the Central Jabaliya Battalion, which had taken control over civilian buildings in Gaza City."
The IDF, who made no mention in its statement of civilians injured and killed in the strike, added that it "reiterates its call to the residents of the area to move south for their safety."
Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday that the Ministry of Health in Gaza said more than 50 people were killed and 150 were wounded in Tuesday's attacks, while the Indonesian Hospital, where most of the victims were taken, confirmed that more than 50 people were killed.
The Israeli raid on the refugee camp on Tuesday has been widely condemned, including by high-level EU figures and Doctors Without Borders.
The Tánaiste, who has previously called for a ceasefire in Gaza, told NewstalkFM on Wednesday that he does not believe the bombing of the refugee camp on Tuesday was "proportionate."
He said: "What is Israel saying? That if we take out a commander of Hamas and some underground tunnels, that that's worth how many hundred lives? Is that the moral question that's being put before us?
"I'm very clear on what side I'm on in that. You cannot knowingly take out hundreds of civilians who are not Hamas because of the cowardly and unacceptable and illegal use of civilians as human shields."
The Tánaiste added: "The rules of war apply to both state and non-state actors."
The Tánaiste said the scenes emerging from the aftermath of Tuesday's attack were "horrific."
He added: "There has to be proportionality applied here, through a moral lens."
'I do not believe it was a proportionate attack, in any shape or form.' Tánaiste Micheál Martin on the Israeli airstrike at the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. @PatKennyNT pic.twitter.com/9GuTR6EkRp
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) November 1, 2023
In a situation report on Tuesday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 8,306 people have been killed since October 7, including 3,457 children, 2,136 women, and 480 elderly. There have been a further 21,048 injured.
Overall, nearly 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, according to the Israeli authorities, the vast majority on October 7.
On Wednesday, UNRWA said that “the situation in Gaza has reached a crucial point.”
The organization said that it is “urgently appealing to all parties to facilitate a humanitarian corridor so we can reach all those in need of support.
“Rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access into and throughout Gaza is a matter of utmost urgency, as the continuation of the current situation will only lead to further loss of life, increased displacement, and mounting anger and disaffection.”
Earlier in October, UNRWA confirmed that Ireland would be providing €10 million to “help UNRWA sustain its response and operations in the coming months.” The support from Ireland is in addition to €8 million already received earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported on Wednesday that some people with dual nationalities and seriously injured Palestinians arrived in Egypt on Wednesday, as the Gaza border opened for the first such crossings since the start of the war.
The Jabalia Refugee Camp was struck again on Wednesday. According to the AFP, the Hamas-run health ministry said that "dozens" have been "killed, wounded" in the second Israeli raid on the refugee camp.
⭕ LIVE: Israel hits Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza for the second time, a day after deadly Israeli air attack ⤵ https://t.co/O4JybCLIWo
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) November 1, 2023
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