Martin calls for Gaza hospital attack to be independently investigated
A woman reacts as people gather at the site of the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza on October 18, 2023 in the aftermath of an overnight blast there.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin had said the attack on the hospital in Gaza must be independently investigated.
“The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over Israel and the occupied territories. So ultimately, I think the determination of any given incident would be a form of a breach of international law or war crimes would be a matter for the International Criminal Court.
"But more generally, any attacks, deliberate or premeditated attacks on civilian infrastructure or indeed hospitals, is a war crime,” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
Mr Martin said he backed calls by the UN Secretary General for an immediate humanitarian pause or cease fire of hostilities to allow humanitarian aid to get in.
It is “absolutely vital” that water, food and medical supplies get through because the hospitals are “unbelievably stretched”. Intensive negotiations are ongoing to get international citizens out of Gaza, he added.
Mr Martin called for all the hostages taken by Hamas to be released without any conditions. “I think that would help. There's a number of aspects here. First of all, the people of Gaza are suffering to an extraordinary degree. And I've always said that the bombing of any area that's so densely populated inevitably results in the loss of civilian life. And likewise, in terms of rockets going into Israel, also, obviously result in the loss of life.”
Europe remains the biggest donor to Gaza, he added. All EU states need to increase their contributions, Ireland will be increasing its core funding because it is “a lifeline for Palestinians and for Gazans in respect of food, in respect of water, in respect to humanitarian aid and education and health and so forth.”
Mr Martin said the evacuation of Irish citizens in the region was the continuing focus of the Government.
US President Joe Biden will touch down in Israel on Wednesday for a diplomatic scramble to prevent the war with Hamas from spiralling into an even larger conflict.
The challenge became more difficult as outrage swept through the Middle East following the explosion which killed hundreds in a Gaza Strip hospital.
Mr Biden was scheduled to visit Jordan as well, but his meetings with Arab leaders were called off as he was leaving Washington, costing him an opportunity for the face-to-face conversations he views as crucial for navigating this fraught moment.
The president’s only stop will be Israel, where he’s expected to talk with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel has been preparing for a potential ground invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ attacks on October 7, which killed 1,400 Israelis.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One that Mr Biden “wants to get a sense from the Israelis on the situation on the ground” and will “ask some tough questions”.
“He’ll be asking them as a friend,” Mr Kirby said.
The president also planned to meet Israeli first responders and the families of those killed and hostages taken when Hamas made its incursion into Israel.
Roughly 2,800 Palestinians have been reported killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza. Another 1,200 people are believed to be buried under the rubble, alive or dead, health authorities said.
Those numbers predate the explosion at the Al-Ahli hospital on Tuesday. No clear cause has been established for the blast.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said an Israeli airstrike caused the destruction but the Israeli military denied involvement and blamed a misfired rocket from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group which also denied responsibility.
Mr Biden said in a statement that he was “outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted.”
He also said he “directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened”.
Protests swept through the region after the deaths at the hospital, which had been treating wounded Palestinians and sheltering many more seeking a refuge from the fighting.
Hundreds of Palestinians flooded the streets of major West Bank cities including Ramallah. More people joined protests that erupted in Beirut, Lebanon and Amman, Jordan, where an angry crowd gathered outside the Israeli Embassy.
In Jordan, King Abdullah II had planned to host meetings with Mr Biden alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
But Mr Abbas withdrew in protest and the summit was cancelled outright.
Mr Kirby said Jordan had declared three days of mourning after the hospital explosion and Mr Biden understood the move and was part of a “mutual” decision to call off the Jordan portion of his trip.
He said Mr Biden would have an opportunity to speak to the Arab leaders by phone as he returned to Washington.
Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, told a state-run television network the war is “pushing the region to the brink.”
There are also fears that a new front could erupt along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah has been skirmishing with Israeli forces.
Mr Biden’s trip will test the limits of US influence in the Middle East at a volatile time. It is his second trip to a conflict zone this year, after visiting Ukraine in February.
The visit to Israel coincides with rising humanitarian concerns in Gaza, where Israel has cut off the flow of food, fuel and water.
Mediators have been struggling to break a deadlock over providing supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals.
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