PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has said that the blast at the al-Ahli Hospital in Northern Gaza, yesterday evening, must be investigated as a war crime.
Speaking to reporters in Rome, Italy today, said that it is “very, very important that there be a reliable investigation as to how it (the explosion) came to be, who is responsible and what the consequences are”.
Asked if the strike could be considered as a war crime, Higgins said: “It must be investigated, certainly, as a war crime.”
The ministry in Hamas-run the Palestinian territory said at least 500 people had been killed in yesterday’s blast.
Israel and Palestine have traded blame for the strike, which triggered street protests in the Middle East against Israel.
President Higgins is attending the World Food Forum this week and highlighted that the people in Southern Gaza were “already living in very stressed conditions” due to a lack of food and water rations.
He added that he is outraged by any attack on civilians.
“I express, and have expressed again and again, utter revulsion at the attack of people attending, for example, a music event,” Higgins said.
“But we are not asked to choose and say that we must exclusively concentrate on that particular horror and, at the same time, set aside our concerns at what are the pre-announced, delivered breaches of international law that are involved when you remove water, when you remove medical aid, when you remove food itself from civilian populations.”
He labelled the withholding of rations as a breach of international and humanitarian law and said that any facts that are determined by an investigation must be made available to the public.
“The facts are, that people have lost their lives, people have been killed,” Higgins said.
Higgins added that, when prosecuting the attack, that it should be investigated it in a “scrupulously detailed” manner – to avoid similar attacks in the future.
Higgins added that there has been a “sustained interest” to resolve the ongoing conflict in the Israeli-Palestinian region, adding that “we all know that the Palestinian people are not Hamas”.
He also called for a ceasefire as the “serious engagement for the construction of a diplomatic space”.
Higgins said that the protection of international law and civilians “must be vindicated in all circumstances”. He added that he is “very pleased” on Ireland’s continued provision of aid to Palestine.
Earlier today, the European Union also immediately tripled its humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in the wake of the attack on the hospital in Gaza City.
European commission president Ursula Von der Leyen said terror is “resurfacing”, with the 7 October Hamas attacks in Israel and an ISIS terrorist killing two people in Brussels this week.
She added that while Israel has the right to defend themselves from Hamas and terror, the citizens in Palestine are also “suffering” from the same terror and that the EU must support them.
On Monday, Higgins criticised the chief commissioner for her comments on the Israel-Hamas war, saying that she was “not speaking for Ireland and she wasn’t speaking for the opinions that they hold”.
“It may not have been meant to have malevolent consequences but certainly we need a better performance in relation to European Union diplomacy and practice,” he said.
The Journal reported that nine of the 13 Irish MEPs had also criticised von der Leyen’s response to the Israel-Hamas war, with many saying she has overstepped her mandate.
Fine Gael MEP Colm Markey issued strong criticism of von der Leyen and said her visit to Israel was “ill-judged”.
Fellow Fine Gael MEPs Maria Walsh and Frances Fitzgerald both said the European Commission is not responsible for setting EU foreign policy.
Diarmuid Pepper will be reporting from Rome this week and you can follow on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Diarmuid_9.
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