Varadkar: Freedom threatened by Gaza bombing and war in Ukraine

Palestinians waited for the humanitarian aid to be dropped by the US Air Force in the Gaza Strip, on Saturday. The Taoiseach has since called for leaders not to remain silent on the ongoing conflict. Picture: Mahmoud Essa/AP

The world will become "infinitely less secure" if we fail to place equal value on the lives of both Israeli and Palestinian children, the Taoiseach has warned at an event held in Boston.

Leo Varadkar told an event attended by a number of American politicians that "freedom is once again gravely threatened", both due to the bombardment of Gaza and the war in Ukraine.

While he described the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7 as "an act of pure evil and hatred", Mr Varadkar added that "when thousands of children are killed in response, no one can avert their eyes".

"The life of a child is the greatest gift of all. Childhood should be a blessing. Today in Gaza, for so many it is a death sentence and a curse," he said in his keynote address at the JFK Presidential Library.

"If we are not consistent — if we do not see and respect the equal value of a child of Israel and a child of Palestine — then the global South, most of the world in fact, will not listen when we call for them to stand by the rules and institutions that are the bedrock of a civilized world," Mr Varadkar, who has travelled to Boston before the annual St Patrick's Day events in the White House, said.

"We will all be losers and our world will be infinitely less secure."

The Taoiseach went on to tell the audience that the cries of the innocent will "haunt us forever" if we remain silent on what is happening in Gaza, and will engender more retaliation and beget more violence and revenge.

"No child ever gave their consent for terrorist acts. No child should ever be punished for them.

"It is unconscionable that they are dying not just as a result of relentless bombing and destruction, but of hunger and thirst and from an absence of medical treatment and care," Mr Varadkar said in calling for a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.

Turning to what he described as "Ukraine fatigue", the Taoiseach said the transatlantic commitment must remain steadfast and assured, including the provision of political, humanitarian, military, financial and other help to ensure that Ukraine prevails.

"When I hear people talk of ‘Ukraine fatigue’, I think of the Ukrainian men and women who are making incredible sacrifices to defend not only their own sovereignty and territorial integrity, but to defend European security and freedom; to defend the values and the existential interests that the transatlantic alliance is built on.

"We cannot say to them that we are ‘fatigued’ by this in the face of their enormous sacrifice and their incredible bravery."