Twelve years ago I visited the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. I was struck by how packed it was with more than 100,000 people living in closely cramped quarters in less than 1.4 sq. km. Many streets are so small that you cannot even fit a coffin down them. Today, much of Jabalia, a refugee camp, lies in ruins because Israel targeted it for bombardment.

I visited a hospital in Gaza. Even then, back in 2011, they were running out of surgical gloves and basic medicines because of Israel's blockade. Today, they are being forced to operate on hospital floors without anaesthetic and are on the verge of running out of fuel. That will mean the electricity going off and death for people in ICU and for babies in incubators.

I met a 12-year old girl who had not seen her father since she was four months old. He was one of about 6,000 political prisoners being held by Israel, many without charge or trial and hundreds of them children. There are now thousands and thousands of children in Gaza who will never see their parents again. More than 4,000 children have been killed. Israel is committing war crimes, with the support of the US Government and much of the EU. They are bombing hospitals and ambulances. They are bombing residential areas with the biggest bombs designed to inflict maximum damage. They are bombing convoys of refugees they ordered to flee south for safety. They are laying siege to 2.3 million people, trying to starve them out by blockading food and water. They are bombing fishing boats to stop people from getting around the siege and feeding themselves. They are committing the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes - Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute. They are committing these crimes openly and brazenly, repeatedly declaring their intention to do so in the world's media.

Yesterday the Taoiseach said "it may well be the case that war crimes have been committed. That is where the International Criminal Court, ICC, comes in but there has to be a proper investigation." Will the Irish Government make a referral to the International Criminal Court under Article 14 of the Rome Statute so there can be such an investigation?

Israel is facing growing isolation internationally. Bolivia has cut all diplomatic ties with Israel. Chile and Colombia have recalled their ambassadors. They were joined yesterday by South Africa and Chad. If Ireland took that step as a European country, if we expelled the Israeli ambassador, it would have an impact globally. It would send a clear signal that when Ursula von der Leyen gave the green light to Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza, she was not speaking for all Europeans. It would further isolate and put pressure on Israel to stop.

I thank the Deputy. The time is up.

It would demonstrate real solidarity with the Palestinian people. I have two questions for the Taoiseach.

Deputy Murphy is way over time.

Will the Government make a referral to the International Criminal Court so there can be an investigation and will he expel the Israeli ambassador?

The Government's position on this has been very clear. There should be a humanitarian ceasefire immediately so that aid can go into Gaza and EU citizens and other citizens can leave. Hamas should free all of the hostages it is holding without any conditions and should lay down its arms because it is a terrorist organisation. We need a new peace initiative in the Middle East, desperately so.

The situation in Gaza is critical. The high number of civilian casualties is deeply shocking, in particular the number of children, journalists and also UN and other aid workers who have been killed. The protection of civilians and de-escalation is a priority. A humanitarian ceasefire is required immediately and the level of aid passing into Gaza needs to be accelerated as a matter of urgency. We continue to engage with EU and regional partners to increase the aid allowed into Gaza and the Government is in regular contact with regional foreign ministers and leaders. The Tánaiste has announced €13 million in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people with €10 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, and €3 million for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNOCHA.

Ireland condemns outright the attack by Hamas and affirms Israel's right to defend itself, but this must be in line with international humanitarian law and in a proportionate manner, and this has not been the case. A distinction has to be made between Hamas and civilians in Gaza. Targeting civilian infrastructure is not acceptable and collective punishment is a breach of international humanitarian law in our view. De-escalation and the protection of civilians must be our first priority.

In relation to the role of the International Criminal Court, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are a breach of international humanitarian law. All potential violations of international humanitarian law should be investigated. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, confirmed the court has jurisdiction over the situation in the occupied territory and by Palestinian nationals outside it, so we do not need to make a referral for an investigation to take place.

In regard to the issue of the ambassador raised by Deputy Paul Murphy, I do not believe it would be the right thing to expel the ambassador from Israel for exactly the same reasons that we did not expel the Russian ambassador in relation to Ukraine. We need to be able to engage at some level. There are around 40 Irish citizens being held in Gaza and we want them to be able to leave.

Hostages. That is what they are.

There is also a young Irish-Israeli girl who may well be being held in Gaza as a hostage of Hamas as well. Let us not be just one-sided about this. Our priority, no matter who is holding them, is for Irish citizens to be able to get out and get to safety. That means we need to be able to engage with the Israeli Government and the Israeli ambassador. At some point we also want to be able to talk about peace, reconciliation and reconstruction. That may seem ridiculous now, but we have to keep that hope alive. While expelling the ambassador might make us feel better for a day or two, and it might be a story in the international news for a day or two, it would not actually have an impact on Israel's policy, not for a second. The Deputy is a bit naive if he actually thinks that.

It worked with South Africa.

It would not cause Israel to change course. Second, it would hamper our efforts to get the hostages out and to get citizens out and also to potentially have some sort of role in future peacebuilding and peacemaking in the area.

Make sure that she does not go back home until our people come home safe.

The Taoiseach has acknowledged that there needs to be an investigation by the International Criminal Court. It is true that the Prosecutor has said that the ICC has authority, but what that is referring to is the fact that Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and therefore it is saying it is not applicable to it. The Prosecutor is saying "No. Things that are committed in Gaza can be covered" but there does need to be a referral in order for a prosecution and investigation to take place. The Taoiseach has the power to make that happen. Will the Government make a referral under Article 14 so that there is an investigation by the International Criminal Court?

The Taoiseach says we cannot expel the Israeli ambassador because we need to have diplomatic relations to try and get the Irish citizens out. But we have those relations right now. We have the Israeli ambassador on the Irish media every day telling lies, covering up for war crimes, and that is not happening. Is it not true that Irish citizens, together with Brazilian citizens, are effectively being held hostage by the Israeli regime in Gaza? While the citizens of other countries have been allowed to leave, for example, the US, Germany and Britain, Irish and Brazilians have not been allowed to leave by Israel.

I thank the Deputy. The time is up now.

Those countries whose citizens are allowed to leave are those who voted in line with Israel against the ceasefire and Irish and Brazilian citizens are effectively being punished by Israel for our vote in favour of the ceasefire at the UN.

The Deputy has made his point. I thank him.

The best thing for Irish citizens in Gaza-----

I thank the Deputy. His time is up.

-----and everyone else is for the bombing and the assault to stop. The more pressure on Israel, and the more isolation of Israel, the more pressure that will be put on Israel to do precisely that. The best thing we can do, precisely, is to expel the ambassador and to send a signal to them and to the whole world.

Our advice and understanding is that we do not need to make a referral for an investigation to take place. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has said that he believes jurisdiction applies to the occupied territories but I will seek further information and advice on that.

There are roughly 8,000 EU and foreign nationals in Gaza.

Only a handful have been allowed to leave so far. Only about 20% of EU citizens have been allowed to leave so far and we have been given no indication that Ireland is somehow being penalised for the stance we are taking in our call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. We will not change our position on that, no matter what.