Irish deputy prime minister denounces Israel's blocking of UNRWA aid to northern Gaza

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin on Monday said Israel's blocking of UNRWA aid deliveries into northern Gaza is "completely unacceptable."

"On humanitarian access to Gaza, (UN Secretary-General) Antonio Guterres is crystal clear; blocked aid is a ‘moral outrage’. The use of starvation as a weapon of war is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law," he said on X.

Israel has waged a military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,200 Palestinians have since been killed and over 74,500 injured besides causing mass destruction, displacement and shortages of necessities.

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

It is mulling a ground invasion into Rafah, and also working on evacuation plan for the nearly 1.5 million Palestinians who are seeking refuge in Gaza’s southernmost city.