Israeli strikes on Rafah 'horrific, despicable,' Irish premier says

By Nur Asena Erturk

Ireland’s prime minister on Monday described the Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah as “horrific,” and “despicable.”

“The idea that anybody would bomb a displaced persons center, a center in which people are told to go to stay safe … is horrific,” Simon Harris told the broadcaster Virgin Media News.

This attack also raises “extraordinarily serious questions” about international law, he added.

Harris reiterated his call “to the rest of the European countries … in terms of using all of the levers at our disposal to help bring about a cease-fire.”

The prime minister recalled that Ireland signed a letter “calling for review of the Association Agreement, effectively the trade agreement, between the EU and Israel.”

“I do not think the EU should fear that review,” he said, and added that he is “not satisfied in relation to the response so far at the European level.”

Harris vowed to pursue “every diplomatic avenue to build a broader coalition … because this cannot be allowed to continue.”

He expressed his pride in Ireland recognizing the Palestinian statehood along with Spain and Norway.

“But right now in the here and now children are dying, and effectively displaced persons centers are being bombed and that's a despicable act,” the premier said.

At least 35 people were killed and dozens injured as Israel targeted a camp for displaced people and houses in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, said medical sources and officials.

The attack occurred near the logistics base of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Tal al-Sultan, said the Gaza Media Office.

Israel has killed nearly 36,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

The military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.

The attack comes despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice that ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

Spain, Ireland, and Norway announced they will recognize the Palestinian statehood on May 28.