Irish premier calls for end to war in Gaza describing it as ‘horrific'
Mr Martin called for a surge in humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza.
It comes following reports of children dying due to malnutrition and starvation in recent days.
Palestinians in Gaza are facing severe shortages of food, water and aid.
It comes after Tanaiste Simon Harris was one of 26 signatories to a joint statement on Monday, which calls for an end to the war in Gaza.
Mr Harris, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs, said the 'suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths'.
The situation in Gaza is horrific.
The suffering of civilians and the death of innocent children is intolerable.
I echo the call by Foreign Ministers of 28 countries for all hostages to be released, and for a surge in humanitarian aid.
This war must end and it must end now.
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) July 22, 2025
In a social media post, Mr Martin said: 'The situation in Gaza is horrific. The suffering of civilians and the death of innocent children is intolerable.
'I echo the call by foreign ministers of 28 countries for all hostages to be released, and for a surge in humanitarian aid.
'This war must end and it must end now.'
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described Gaza as a 'horror show with a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times'.
He told the Security Council: 'Malnourishment is soaring. Starvation is knocking on every door.
'Now we are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles.
'That system is being denied the conditions to function. Denied the space to deliver. Denied the safety to save lives.'
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Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Irish premier welcomes trade deal between EU and US
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Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Mike Dailly: UK must recognise Palestine as a state
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Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Why Keir Starmer's government needs to urgently recognise Palestine
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It seems that with every day the situation we see depicted in news footage from Gaza becomes more hopeless. More horrific. Every report to the UK Parliament becomes more difficult to listen to, more frustrating as we know that whatever calls we make to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are unlikely to be heeded. What we're seeing is difficult to believe because we want to hold onto the hope that it isn't possible. We hear journalists describing the crisis are facing the same deprivations. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Increasingly there is agreement across Parliament that it is time we recognised Palestine as a state. We cannot wait for a peace process, one which has consistently failed to deliver its only aim, to come to an agreed path to statehood for the Palestinians. For too many people, it's already too late. Palestinian and Israeli alike. A boy, clearly in distress, queues for food in a charity kitchen in Gaza City earlier this month (Picture: Bashar Taleb) | AFP via Getty Images Students trapped in Gaza This week I received a letter of thanks from a Palestinian academic. A writer and scholar, she wanted me to know how grateful she was that I had written asking the UK Government to ensure safe passage of students and researchers to the University of Edinburgh. She has an unconditional offer to study for a PhD in English literature there, but the closure of the UK visa office in Gaza is denying her and others the opportunity to escape, leaving her stranded amidst the devastation of war. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The week before, I sat in Parliament with an Israeli mother who pleaded for MPs' support to press for the release of her son's body. He was one of the 251 hostages taken on October 7. The world they both knew, and we recognised, changed forever that day. A world shocked by the brutality of the Hamas attack and murder of almost 1,200 people, the largest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, stood in solidarity and mourning with Israel. Since then, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry claims almost 58,000 people have died and 90 per cent of homes have been destroyed. Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas after October 7 was in no doubt. But the scale of the destruction and acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza which ensued has brought widespread condemnation. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'A concentration camp' Many of us who have long regarded ourselves as friends of Israel are distraught at Netanyahu's failure to heed international opinion. One of his predecessors, Ehud Olmert, has criticised the government's plans for a so-called 'humanitarian city' for the Palestinians in Gaza saying: 'It is a concentration camp. I'm sorry.' It has to stop. Myself and my fellow Liberal Democrat MPs have already written to the government calling for recognition of Palestine. And pressure has been mounting this weekend on Keir Starmer to follow French President Emmanuel Macron's lead and announce immediate recognition as others have done. We know that has not been the preferred timescale of this government. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said recently: '…I wish I could say that if we were to recognise tomorrow, it would bring this war to an end, but I am afraid I am not sure that is the case. What is required now is painstaking diplomacy to get to a ceasefire…' For those whose lives have been destroyed, or whose loved ones have been lost, that may not be enough.
