Ireland says blocking aid to Gaza must be stopped

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Ireland’s president said Tuesday that the international community must not be distracted or avert its gaze from the situation in the Gaza Strip as he called for an immediate halt to the blocking of food and aid deliveries to the enclave.

"As the world watches Gaza descend yet deeper towards famine and ever greater loss of life, it is vital that every country in the world now does all in its power to ensure that a humanitarian disaster in its most extreme sense is avoided," Michael Higgins said in a statement.

Higgins also said that essential medicines and fuel must be provided to what is left of the hospitals in the besieged enclave.

"Aid that could be delivered immediately is scandalously being blocked, and those responsible for doing so must take responsibility for the deaths that are ensuing," he added.

He said those countries who suspended funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) must take account of children dying from a lack of oxygen and many more dying from malnutrition, with all of this set to escalate.

Several countries suspended funding to UNRWA last month following Israeli accusations that 12 of the agency's thousands of employees took part in the Oct. 7 attack last year by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel.

The agency is investigating the claims but warned that cutting off funding risks a catastrophe.

The European Union and Canada, which had suspended funding, announced later that they would resume support.

Welcoming a move by Canada and Sweden to rescind their decisions and resume aid, Higgins stressed that others should now follow such a lead, "given the depth of what the people of Gaza are now facing."

"It is time for the world to put an end to this loss of life, to remember our shared humanity, listen to the peacemakers and commit all of its efforts to bringing this crisis to an end and ensuring that an appropriate long-term settlement is reached," he added.

Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since Oct. 7, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

According to local health authorities, around 31,200 Palestinians have been killed in the war on Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 72,900 others have been injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli onslaught has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.