The horror in Gaza continues to deepen. The latest is the discovery of mass graves at hospitals, including one with more than 300 bodies at a hospital in Khan Younis and another at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. The Tánaiste has said the people of Gaza are being collectively punished by Israel and that he believes Israel intends to attack Rafah, where more than 1.5 million people have fled or are attempting to survive and who face being slaughtered in the coming weeks. The question is what the Government is going to do about it. Will it please stop the US military from using Shannon Airport, including, potentially, to transport weapons en route to Israel? Will it expel the Israeli ambassador and impose sanctions on Israel? Why is it left to ordinary people like those who are going to participate in the flotilla to break the blockade or those occupying college campuses in the US and elsewhere?

It is certainly very traumatising for everyone to hear the stories coming out of Gaza at the moment. The Government has been absolutely proactive on this and has shown leadership at international level from the outset, particularly on the absolute need for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to be let into Gaza. As we speak, the Tánaiste is in the region once again, very much advocating, on behalf of Ireland and the international community, the importance of an immediate ceasefire and a way forward, but especially the need to bring much-needed relief to those in Palestine. The response of Israel has been absolutely excessive and unacceptable. The trauma it experienced in the first instance was massive and unprecedented in scale but the response has been totally disproportionate. It has gone totally overboard and has led to much destruction. We need a ceasefire immediately.