Tánaiste Micheál Martin had “unreservedly” condemned an attack on a hospital in Gaza and called for the incident to be independently investigated.
“The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over Israel and the occupied territories, so ultimately, I think the determination of any given incident would be a form of a breach of international law or war crimes would be a matter for the International Criminal Court.
“More generally, any attacks, deliberate or premeditated attacks, on civilian infrastructure or indeed hospitals, is a war crime,” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
Mr Martin said he backed calls by the UN secretary general for an immediate humanitarian pause or cease fire of hostilities to allow humanitarian aid to get in to Gaza.
He said it is “absolutely vital” that water, food and medical supplies get through, as hospitals there are “unbelievably stretched”.
Intensive negotiations are also ongoing to get international citizens out of Gaza, he said, adding that the evacuation of Irish citizens in the region is the continuing focus of the Government.
Mr Martin also called for all the hostages taken by Hamas during the attack on October 7th to be released without any conditions.
“I think that would help. There are a number of aspects here. First of all, the people of Gaza are suffering to an extraordinary degree, and I've always said that the bombing of any area that's so densely populated inevitably results in the loss of civilian life.
“Likewise, in terms of rockets going into Israel, also, obviously result in the loss of life.”
The Tánaiste said Europe remains the biggest donor to Gaza, adding that all EU states need to increase their contributions.
He added Ireland will be increasing its core funding as it is “a lifeline” for Palestinians.
