‘Sickened, appalled, repulsed’ by situation in Gaza: Irish foreign minister
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris says “it’s clear war crimes are taking place” in the Gaza Strip.
“It’s clear genocidal activity is taking place. Children are being starved. Food is being used as a weapon of war,” he said in a video shared on social media.
Harris said while Ireland welcomes the European Union’s decision to review a major trade pact with Israel, the bloc must go further and suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
“It needs to be suspended because it cannot be business as usual whilst this is being carried out in Gaza,” the minister said, adding Ireland will move forward with a bill that would ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“On Tuesday, I will seek a government decision in relation to that,” Harris said.
An update on Gaza and my plans to bring forward legislation on the occupied territories, the need for aid, including Irish funded aid to immediately enter Gaza and the need for the European Union to suspend the association agreement between the EU and Israel. pic.twitter.com/sFe8opp2Ns
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 24, 2025
Why wait until Tuesday. Where is the sense of urgency. And as 3rd largest importer of Israeli goods, where are the sanctions. A bill to ban trade with Israeli settlements, that's it??? Why are you even trading with illegal Israeli settlements, or you're probably not and it's just another feel good bill...
The time for words has long past, it's time for concrete actions.
‘Words fall short in describing the pain’
Funerals have been held for the nine children of a Gaza doctor who were killed in Israeli bombing. Dr Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, said on X the attack happened shortly after Hamdi al-Najjar drove his wife to work.
“Just minutes after returning home, a missile struck their house,” he said, adding the father was “in intensive care”.
“This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain. In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted – Israel’s aggression goes further, wiping out entire families.”
Rescue workers collect remains after the Israeli strike on a home in Khan Younis killed nine of a doctor’s 10 children while she was at work
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/24/middleeast/gaza-doctor-children-bodies-hospital-intl
In response to a CNN request for comment, the Israeli military said aircraft had “struck a number of suspects who were identified operating from a structure adjacent to IDF troops in the area of Khan Yunis.” It said it was reviewing the claim civilians had been killed.
Gaza Civil Defense published graphic video from the scene of the strike. It showed medics lifting an injured man onto a stretcher as other first responders try to extinguish a fire engulfing the house. They recover the charred remains of several children from the debris and wrap them in white sheets.
