Work Ongoing To Get 40 Irish Citizens Out Of Gaza
The Government is making efforts to evacuate around 40 Irish citizens from Gaza.
It comes as Israel reportedly prepares to launch a land offensive in the occupied territory, following warnings to the one million people in northern Gaza to leave.
The only border crossing between Egypt and Gaza is expected to open sometime today, allowing aid to enter and foreign nationals to evacuate.
Dozens of foreign nationals massed at the Rafah border on Sunday after news spread that an agreement was reached to allow foreigners to exit Gaza via the crossing - but they were left stranded as it remained closed.
Speaking in Paris on Sunday, where he met French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland was working with its partners to bring Irish people to safety if necessary.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin reiterated on Sunday that international law must be respected.
"The UN Secretary General made it very clear yesterday; even wars have rules," he said.
"International humanitarian law exists for a reason. Its overarching aim is to protect civilians; all civilians, everywhere.
"The rules are clear and they apply to all parties to all conflicts everywhere; state actor and non-state actors alike.
"The decision by the Israeli military to tell the entire civilian population in the north of the Gaza strip to move southward for their own safety is deeply dangerous and impossible to implement."
Mr Martin said there 'must' be a distinction made between Palestinian civilians and Hamas.
"There is no doubt about the brutal criminality of Hamas and their utter disregard for human life, including the lives of their fellow Palestinians," he said.
"But we absolutely must distinguish between Hamas and Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
"We are in contact with the UN and other partners on an ongoing basis on work to create humanitarian corridors from Egypt, to get vital supplies to civilians in urgent need in Gaza.
"I am also deeply concerned about rising violence and deaths in the West Bank, including increased incidents of settler violence and displacement of Palestinian communities.
"Under international law, Israel has a right to defend itself from attack, but this must be done within the parameters of international humanitarian law," he added.
