THIS MUST STOP

Bombing and hunger hell in Gaza onslaught

- BY LOUISE BURNE Political Correspondent

TAOISEACH Micheal Martin has said the world is "absolutely disgusted" by the ongoing Israeli bombing and starvation in Gaza.

The Fianna Fail leader said: "I think the world is now sickened and absolutely disgusted with the level of bombing, and starvation that is ongoing in Gaza.

"This slaughter of the innocent must stop. And there's an onus on the world at large to very significantly pressurise Israel to cease all hostilities in Gaza."

Mr Martin also said Hamas need to release all of the hostages, adding: "We need a ceasefire and a pathway to reconstruction of Gaza." The weaponisation of aid is a war crime, and that is what we are witnessing here in Gaza. "And it simply has to stop.

Noting that it represents the collective punishment of a people, Mr Martin said that the international community need to collectively, together, "do everything it can to stop this horrendous war."

DEAL

Rejecting calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 53,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Meanwhile, the European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has decided to order a Dutch-led initiative to review the EU-Israel association agreement, a free trade deal with the country.