Humanitarian agencies continue to report difficulties getting enough food and vital aid into Gaza to help large numbers of civilians, including many children, facing starvation in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the European Union’s preferential trade deal with Israel should be suspended in response to the “barbaric” conditions in Gaza.
An almost three-month blockade of humanitarian aid has led to trucks being trucks stopped from entering Gaza as Israel seeks to control how the supplies are distributed.
Many European governments, including France, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and others, have tried to put pressure on Israel to allow supplies of flour, fuel and medicines into Gaza.
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Israeli military fires shots at delegation that included Irish diplomats
Israeli troops fired several warning shots at an international delegation that included two Irish diplomats, who were on an official visit to Jenin in the West Bank, further heightening tensions.
Ireland’s representative in Palestine Feilim McLaughlin and his deputy Sorcha Lowry were among the diplomats on the visit to Jenin. None of the international delegation were hurt.
Mr Martin said he was “deeply shocked and horrified” that the Israel Defense Forces fired on the group of diplomats.
“Thankfully, nobody was killed or injured,” he said, adding that he condemned “this aggressive, intimidatory and violent act”.
“This is not, and must never be, a normal way to behave,” said the Taoiseach.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas called for Israel to fully investigate the incident. The Israeli military said the delegation of diplomats, who were not hurt, had deviated from an approved route while travelling in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Israel has intensified its military bombardment of Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, ordering civilians to evacuate the area, sparking fears of further casualties and destruction.
United Nations aid workers said on Wednesday they were still waiting for permission from Israel to distribute supplies from five aid trucks allowed into Gaza at the start of this week.
A United Nations spokesperson said trucks were still in the loading area of Kerem Shalom, the sprawling logistics hub at the southeastern corner of the Gaza Strip, because access to the rest of Gaza was too insecure to allow safe distribution. At least 15 aid trucks left the Kerem Shalom crossing en route to World Food Program warehouses in central Gaza later on Wednesday.
A further 93 aid trucks were permitted to cross into the Palestinian territory afterwards, but the supplies have yet to reach the civilian population, who agencies have warned are facing famine.
Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Martin said there was “absolutely no justification” for what Israel was doing in Gaza.
“The prosecution of this war is causing immense death, destruction and suffering to an entire population,” the Fianna Fáil leader said.
After more than a year of deadlock, a majority of EU states agree to order a review of the bloc’s “association agreement” with Israel, which governs relations and trade.
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Mr Martin said he believed the EU’s long standing free trade deal with Israel should be suspended, while that review took place.
Suspending the EU association agreement would be a significant economic and diplomatic blow to Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, given the 27-state union is Israel’s biggest trading partner.
It is almost certain, however, that several EU states supportive of Israel would block any attempt to suspend the free trade deal.
More than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed during the 19-month bombardment and invasion of Gaza by Israel’s military.
It was launched in response to the October 2023 Hamas-led attack in southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
