logo
Tanaiste Simon Harris announces  €4million aid package for Palestinian children during ‘window of hope'

Tanaiste Simon Harris announces €4million aid package for Palestinian children during ‘window of hope'

The Irish Sun3 days ago
TANAISTE Simon Harris has announced a €4million funding package for Palestinian children during what he has called a 'window of hope".
The package includes €3million for children's education, €700,000 to human rights organisations and €300,000 to support services and vulnerable families.
2
Tanaiste Simon Harris has announced a €4million funding package for Palestinian children
Credit: © 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved
The Tanaiste speaking earlier today, said: "The funding I am announcing today will help deliver access to education at a time when so many children's lives are being destroyed by this catastrophic war."
Harris said this announcement brings Ireland's support of the
This package comes following warnings by the Tanaiste that the next few days represent a 'window of hope for delivering a ceasefire'.
Neale Richmond, Minister of State with responsibility for International Development and Diaspora, welcomed the news.
MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN
He said: "Ireland is supporting Palestinian and Israeli organisations to defend human rights at a time when they are under immense pressure."
The funds will be used to train teachers, provide school materials and rebuild schools that have been damaged or destroyed.
During the announcement, Tanaiste
He said: "Our support for schools is a critical part of Ireland's longstanding partnership with Palestine. In Gaza, our ongoing support for UNRWA continues to deliver vital remote learning to almost 300,000 children living in a war zone.
MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN
'Since Israel launched a military operation in the West Bank in January, more than 40,000 people have been displaced. It is vital that the international community maintains its focus on the violence and displacement occurring in the West Bank.'
Hopeful regarding future peace talks, he added: 'I welcome the indications of potential peace-talks, which I discussed at length this week with the Prime Minister of Qatar, who was is playing a leading role in the ceasefire efforts.
'It is vital now that all parties do everything they can to find a way forward and put these peace-talks on a formal footing.'
2
The funding will be used to train teachers, provide school materials and rebuild damaged buildings
Credit: AFP or licensors
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘We will beat British Government for second time in court' – Kneecap at largest ever gig
‘We will beat British Government for second time in court' – Kneecap at largest ever gig

Irish Independent

time40 minutes ago

  • Irish Independent

‘We will beat British Government for second time in court' – Kneecap at largest ever gig

Kneecap played in Finsbury Park, London, on Saturday evening as a supporting act for Fontaines D.C Pol Allingham ©Press Association Next month will see 'the second time Kneecap have beat the British Government in court', the Irish rap trio said at their largest gig to date. The 45,000-strong crowd in Finsbury Park, London watched them walk on in front of a screen that said 'Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people'.

Controversial Gaza aid group vows to keep operating despite mass killings of Palestinians
Controversial Gaza aid group vows to keep operating despite mass killings of Palestinians

RTÉ News​

time3 hours ago

  • RTÉ News​

Controversial Gaza aid group vows to keep operating despite mass killings of Palestinians

The Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is less than six weeks old, but it has already mired in controversy, with near daily mass killings of hungry Palestinians seeking food from its aid hubs. Israeli and US officials say the new system, operated by American contractors, was set up to stop aid falling into the hands of Hamas militants and have called on the UN and other agencies to cooperate. But the UN denies widespread diversion of aid from its long-established distribution networks and describes the foundation as a "death trap" that has "weaponised aid" for starving Gazans. Since the GHF began operating on 27 May, after a 78-day Israeli total blockade on food, water and medicine into Gaza, international organisations estimate more than 600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,000 wounded near four GHF-operated aid distribution sites. On Tuesday, 170 charities and humanitarian organisations, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International, called for the GHF to be shut down, citing "routine" shootings and "repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law". The next day, Swiss authorities moved to close the Geneva office of the foundation. But Reverend Johnnie Moore, the American evangelical Christian pastor who is chair of the GHF, vowed that the sites would continue operating and indicated that other countries, including European nations, may soon pledge their support publicly. "There are also European countries that have been involved largely behind the scenes – hopefully that will change in the future," Mr Moore told the BBC. So far, the US State Department has announced €26m in funding. But the initial funding came from "two anonymous European countries," Mr Moore said. Shrouded in the fog of war, the GHF is now at the heart of a battle of narratives where Israeli authorities blame Hamas militants for the shooting of starving civilians and of running a propaganda campaign against the Israeli military. But eyewitnesses, international NGOs and local rescuers say IDF troops have deployed tanks, machine guns and mortar fire against unarmed men, women and children. This week, GHF whistleblowers came forward to reveal that US contractors used live bullets and stun grenades against Palestinians queuing for aid. The GHF dismissed the reports as false. Israel has banned international media organisations from reporting in Gaza. Last week, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz published testimony of unnamed IDF soldiers who said they had been given orders to shoot at crowds of Palestinians queuing for aid, despite the civilians posing no threat. One soldier described the approach routes to a GHF distribution site as a "killing field". There are no crowd control measures or tear gas, the soldier told the newspaper, and troops dubbed the operation "Salted fish," the Israeli version of the children's game of "red light, green light" – an apparent reference to the Korean television programme Squid Game. The IDF has admitted to firing "warning shots" on several occasions but denied accounts of deliberate shootings. Following the Ha'aretz exposé, the Israeli military ordered an internal investigation. But the report was denounced by the Israeli government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz accused the paper of publishing a "blood libel". "These are malicious falsehoods designed to defame the IDF, the most moral military in the world," they said in a joint statement. However, the accounts given by the Israeli soldiers and GHF whistleblowers appear to corroborate testimony gathered by Budour Hassan, researcher on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories at Amnesty International. Eyewitnesses described arrows painted onto the asphalt ground, indicating the direction for people to walk as they approach the aid point, she told RTÉ News. "We have tens of thousands of people [in these lines]," Ms Hassan said, "and the moment people stray from the line designated for them to pass through, the shooting starts". People also described low-hovering drones and quadcopters that fire bullets into the crowds. One case she documented was of a 17-year-old boy who went to look for his father who had previously gone missing near a GHF site. "The boy was shot in the leg while looking for his father," she said. Three eyewitnesses in separate interviews described hearing a voice transmitted in Arabic from a quadcopter, telling the crowds there was no aid available that day and to return home, followed by laughter, Ms Hassan said. The aid hubs usually operate either very late at night or very early in the morning, she said. "We're talking about from 12am to 2am - sometimes at 5am," she said and "[people] have to walk for more than four or five hours on foot, because there's no fuel, no transportation and roads are destroyed". Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos when the gates of the aid distribution sites opened as aid is accessed on a first-come, first-served basis, she said. "Sometimes it's very dark at night, you can barely see what's next to you and they start chasing whatever scraps they can get," she said,"and then they start shooting". "We have been talking to several families whose loved ones have been missing for over a month, since attempting to collect food from the GHF, and to this day, they have no idea where they are," she said. "They never came back." Had the GHF proved successful in delivering aid to the Palestinians humanely, humanitarian organisations would have been the first to congratulate them, Ms Hassan told RTÉ News. This organisation has a clear role, she said, and that is to "do the dirty work, unfortunately, of the Israeli military". But the US acting representative to the United Nations, John Kelley, told a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation "has committed to delivering aid consistent with humanitarian principles". "And, contrary to what Hamas wants the world to believe, the GHF continues to provide vital food aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, distributing over 50 million meals as of June 29," he told the Security Council. The head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation also accused the United Nations and other international aid organisations of "sabotage" and of spreading "lies that originate in Hamas". Reverend Johnnie Moore took over GHF after its previous boss Jake Wood resigned, citing concerns over the plan's adherence to "humanitarian principles". "Respectable — I don't even call them respectable anymore — elite organisations that we would assume [have] good intent have just attacked us again and again," Mr Moore told a podcast produced by the Israel-based Misgav Institute for National Security. "The whole time, we're like 'cooperate with us … teach us, let's find ways of solving problems together,'" to no avail," he said. Mr Moore said he would have liked to collaborate with the World Food Programme and other UN bodies but that the UN had "been trying to sabotage us from the very beginning". Asked by RTÉ News for a response to the accusation of sabotage, Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary General said "no - we've never told people not to go to their sites". "Who are we that are fed to say to people who are hungry, don't do this?" he said. "All we're asking is for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to operate within internationally accepted norms," Mr Dujarric told RTÉ News. The UN does not have and is not asking for a monopoly on humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza, he said. "There is enough work for everyone," Mr Dujarric said. "All that we ask is that people operate with the minimum standards, that are globally accepted on humanitarian aid: impartiality, independence, [and] operate in a way that doesn't put the recipients at risk of being shot at," he added.

Letters: Our trip to World Cup in Japan just wasn't the same without Giles and Co
Letters: Our trip to World Cup in Japan just wasn't the same without Giles and Co

Irish Independent

time5 hours ago

  • Irish Independent

Letters: Our trip to World Cup in Japan just wasn't the same without Giles and Co

This was before smartphones and instant internet news. When we arrived, we heard from other Irish supporters that Roy Keane had left the Irish squad. We hungered to know what the RTÉ panel were saying. Supporters took turns making the expensive call home for an update, then shared the news with all the Irish supporters. It was a similar story as we travelled along to the matches, asking what Giles thought and wondering if Dunphy had thrown the head. When we got home, everyone asked us about our experience. We said Japan was nice, the people lovely, the matches exciting and Ireland minus Keane brilliant; but we felt we kind of missed the World Cup, really, because we had no RTÉ panel out there. We decided to stay home for future tournaments so as not to miss out again. Family ties can resist Israeli bombardment Madam — It is early Sunday morning, and I've read Colin Murphy's piece on being Jewish in New York in the context of what's happening in Gaza three times already, looking for a sliver of hope — any type of hope, really ('New York's Jews increasingly divided over Gaza war and the 'heresy' of criticising Israel', June 22). What I would say to Naftuli Moster of the Modern Orthodox tradition is that, yes, you are correct in saying that many of the young pro-Palestinian supporters around the world do not have families and kids yet. But saying a 'protective ­instinct' will kick in that will see them rally to Israel (when they have kids) is also true of every Palestinian family living in the war-torn region. Families and the love that binds them can never be defeated by military might, irrespective of whether you are a Jew or a Muslim, an Israeli or an Arab. Tom McElligott, Tournageehy, Co Kerry Criticising genocide is not antisemitic Madam — Colin Murphy's article is interesting in that right-wing Jews in New York seem to ignore or play down the genocide being perpetrated by the IDF. They do not mention the blockade of Gaza, the militarisation of food distribution and Israel's refusal to give access to external journalists. How would they respond if they and their families were to swap places with a Palestinian family in Gaza for a week? I am sure that experience would bring the reality of IDF oppression home to them. The actions of the Israeli state in Gaza in the past 20 months only highlights its inhumanity and lack of respect for Palestinian lives. Being anti-Israel in this oppression is not being antisemitic. Michael Ryan, Stillorgan, Dublin Gazans need us to keep flag-waving Madam — Eoin O'Malley's article on flag-waving is a very reasonable piece of journalism ('War is not a football match, so put those Palestinian flags away', June 29). However, in the case of Pales­tine, I would dissent. To para­phrase Donald Trump, the people of the West Bank and Gaza 'have no cards'. In the face of more than 55,000 deaths in Gaza alone, the EU will take no action. The UK is banning Palestinian Action on the grounds that it is a terrorist group. Fear stalks those who speak out against Israel in the US. Without the flag-waving, the Palestinian question would be forgotten. In life-and-death situations, clinical analysis just means more bodies in the morgue. Richard Collins, Castleknock, Dublin Free speech bill is a well-meaning folly Madam — I could not agree more with Eilis O'Hanlon ('Policing speech is only OK when it's Simon doing it', June 29). Yes, the new American security requirements may be excessive, but that's up to them; Micheál Martin's comments on the issue are just irrelevant. Far more worrying are our own home-grown restrictions on free speech. This all emanates from well-meaning men and women in Brussels, our own included, who are striving for a beautiful world where everybody will be polite and reasonable in their dealings with their fellow hum­ans and nobody will ever feel offended. My late mother used to observe that 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions', and this scenario fits the bill. A free, open society, which is what I and most others want, must allow people to speak their minds, even if that is off­ensive to some. They will just have to suck it up. Anthony Hanrahan, Salruck, Renvyle, Co Galway Peter Power would be a great president Madam — I was pleased to see Peter Power being suggested as a suitable candidate for election as President of Ireland ('Former FF minister Peter Power in secret talks to run for Áras', June 29). I've read of other possible presidential candidates from the left to the right in our political system, sadly without much enthusiasm about any of them to date. As executive director of Unicef Ireland since 2011 and a former TD and junior minister for Overseas Development, Mr Power has all the attributes needed and is well placed for the important position of First Citizen. Aged 59, he has the energy and enthusiasm required for this position. JJ Ryan, Lisnagry, Co Limerick Gender ideology is forced upon us Madam — In your editorial last Sunday to mark Pride Week, you stated: 'What is beyond question is that the country today, while by no means perfect, is a far more open and progressive place in which to live than it has ever been.' I would take issue with this statement and say that, although some things may have changed for the better, in this country freedom of speech only exists for those who follow the Government line. Unlike Marriage Equality, the Gender Recognition Act – which is also 10 years old – was introduced with no referendum and no real discussion of the implications and possible impact on women's rights. Gender identity and transgender matters are controversial and contested. Despite this, the Government flung itself into the job of embedding this ideology into our legislation, school curriculums, health service, public services and NGOs. Even in his heyday, John Charles McQuaid never managed quite this level of ideological saturation and domination. Julia Anderson, Kilpedder, Co Wicklow Men have no right to be in female spaces Madam —Bernie Linnane says she has a right to be heard (Letters, June 22). Over a two-week period, she has had letters in two national newspapers, an article in a third and has been a guest in Áras an Uachtaráin. Congratulations, Ms Linnane, on your success. It constantly astonishes me that defending the 'right' of a cohort of men to enter women's spaces, where women are vulnerable due to their biology, is considered a righteous cause and is celebrated. Whereas our belief that our daughters, our nieces, our sisters, our friends, our mothers, our grannies and all other women deserve privacy from the male sex when dealing with intimate bodily functions is considered bigoted and wrong. In reply to Margaret McPherson (Letters, June 29), I would like to provide clarity that the only people we want to keep out of women's toilets are men. Females of all ages, sexual orientations, identities, races and religions are welcome. Just not men. Can anyone explain to me what is wrong with that? E Bolger, Dublin Br Kevin Crowley changed lives Madam — Brother Kevin Crowley, who died last week, was a remarkable man. I met him on Dublin streets on num­erous occasions, and one in particular always stays in my memory. Br Kevin encountered a middle-aged man who had unfortunately fallen on hard times. He put his hand on the man's shoulder and walked him to the Capuchin Centre, which he established to help those in need. After a shower, a shave and some nourishing food, that man was a different man. For those who fall on hard times, help is always available thanks to men like Br Kevin. May he rest in peace. Kevin Carolan, Bailieborough, Co Cavan How cricket united Major and Reynolds Madam — I was amused by Shane Ross's excellent column ('Sobriety gives me new respect for a Soc Dem', June 29) about the drinking and non-drinking at the Dáil members' bar during days gone by when he and the hardline republican Neil Blaney talked about cricket, that most English of sports. It reminded me of a meeting with Albert Reynolds, who told me he had a fierce row with John Major in Dublin when both thought the other had been leaking details of their meetings to the media. When both leaders discovered that neither was to blame, they went to lunch and talked anim­atedly about cricket. John Major later confirmed this to me. It is well-known that Martin McGuinness was a keen cricket fan, and I have been told on great authority that when he and General John de Chastelain, the Canadian who oversaw Provisional IRA disarmament, met at a dinner party in Belfast, they had a long discussion about their passion for fly-fishing. All of which shows our inherited cultures on these islands and elsewhere are not always what they seem. Alf McCreary, Belfast Trump's tactics will soon poison Ireland Madam — Referring to Caitríona Perry's article on Donald Trump ('F-bombs, love bombs and actual bombs — inside Trump's big week', June 29), it is tempting to write off the recent events in Washington as just more chaos. But there's more at stake here than headline drama. What's happening is a new kind of power play — quick military strikes, court rulings that clear the way for presidential moves and political decisions ann­ounced on social media. The old checks and balances are being ignored, and that should worry us all. This style won't stay American for long. Other world leaders will see how bold moves and controlling the message can get results fast. These days, it seems attention matters more than honesty or skill. There's a bitter irony in a president who orders bombings while chasing the Nobel Peace Prize. If that prize is given under these conditions, it risks losing its meaning and value. Irish readers should watch closely. This isn't just one 'big, beautiful week' in US politics. It's a sign of lasting changes in how power is used around the world, with consequences for Ireland too. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran, Co Armagh An all-time great response to Dunphy Madam — I have long admired and enjoyed your columnist Declan Lynch. He writes wittily and intelligently on a wide range of subjects. In particular, his analysis of the far right, as epitomised by the likes of Trump, Farage, Orban and far too many others, is a beacon of sanity in what seems to me an increasingly insane world. I would like to thank him for his wonderful column last week on John Giles and his role as a great football analyst. I was somewhat disappointed, though, that he didn't include what I thought was one of the great exchanges between Giles, Eamon Dunphy and Bill O'Herlihy. Bill asked Dunphy and Giles for their predictions on the match that was about to be played. He then mischievously asked Giles if he was as sure of his prediction as Dunphy was of his, to which Giles gave the magnificent response: 'I'm not as sure of anything as Eamon is about everything.' Noel Kennedy, Thurles, Co Tipperary A welcome article on Máirtín Ó Direáin Madam — Mícheál Ó hAodha's translation of Feam­ainn Bhealtaine by Máirtín Ó Direáin ('Lament on loss of community, People & Culture, June 29) is a welcome development in allowing a wider understanding of this fine poet. As Mícheál observes, Ó Dir­eáin was often associated with a nostalgic recreation of the Aran Islands, especially since many of his early poems were prescribed material on school curriculums. However, the poet was a well-read autodidact who went on to discover such modernist poets as TS Eliot, WB Yeats and Ezra Pound, incorporating some of their themes into his middle and later poems where his beloved island became a metaphor to measure — morally, and find wanting — the worst excesses of urban life. I had the privilege of working with him on postgraduate work and can still recall, poignantly, the day I last visited him in the nursing home above Greystones in the winter of 1988 when he told me he was dying. We will remember the poet by the immortal lines from his seminal poem Cranna Foirtil (Strong Oars): 'Coigil aithinne d'aislinge/Scaradh léi is éag duit' — 'Preserve the spark of your vision/To part with it is death'. Declan Collinge, Templeogue, Dublin David Quinn is right about Tuam home Madam — Thank God (and whoever/whatever, if anything, atheists believe in) for David Quinn's excellent analysis of the mother and baby homes issue ('Lurid claims obscure truth of Tuam', June 22). This subject has been crying out for a more reasoned crit­ique for a very long time. As he points out, it's not as if the evid­ence is not already there. The report of the government-app­ointed Commission of Investigation is available for all to read. It's quite comprehensive. The only problem is it totally contradicts the false narrative that has been allowed to gain traction in recent decades. A few significant facts illus­trate this. For example, it explains that the vast majority (about 75pc) of unmarried mothers chose to have and rear their children at home, with no major deleterious consequen­ces — not exactly evidence of a very malignant society. The commission also found that the religious-run institutions were generally better than the state-run county homes, where most poor unmarried mothers received care. Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath Keep up great work, Tommy Conlon Madam — Tommy Conlon was the only pundit to call the Armagh-Kerry contest right ('Old order not quite ready to be written off', Sport, June 29). He didn't buy all the ullagon­ing from everybody in Kerry and was spot-on in his observations about David Clifford, who brings all the players into the game. Keep up the good work.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store