For almost a year, Israel has been waging a genocidal war against Palestinians. More than 40,000 people in Gaza have been murdered. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have not just started in recent days, but rather they have been escalating over the last year. Over the last year, there have been approximately 10,000 attacks on Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,000 people.

Israel has now massively escalated. It is indiscriminately carpet-bombing southern Lebanon. It is consciously and openly targeting civilian homes. In the last 24 hours alone, Israel has killed in excess of 500 people and murdered more than 50 children. There are now tens of thousands of people desperately trying to flee southern Lebanon. This comes after the acts of state terrorism, in which thousands of walkie-talkies and pagers were blown up across the country, maiming and killing women, children and men.

Similar to before the genocide in Gaza, we have public statements from Israeli leaders telling the world their intent to commit war crimes. The Israeli minister for foreign affairs tweeted that any civilian living near Hezbollah weapons should leave their homes immediately for their own safety. That is an admission it is targeting people's homes in Lebanon, with exactly the same justification it used to destroy Gaza. The Israeli minister for diaspora affairs openly stated that Lebanon does not meet the definition of a country and that the border needs to be changed.

Despite war crime after war crime for a year, the US continues to send weapons to Israel to commit these war crimes. A figure of $20 billion worth of weapons was agreed just last month. Is there no line Israel cannot cross? Is a ground invasion of Lebanon coming next, an all-out regional war? Will the Minister condemn these as the war crimes they are? Will the Taoiseach call at the UN for the US to stop sending Israeli weapons? We need actions more than words. Will the Government stop blocking the occupied territories Bill? Will the Government impose sanctions on Israel? Will it tell the Israeli ambassador not to come back?

Have any of the bombs that are raining down on Lebanon passed through Irish airspace? The Taoiseach told the Dáil that no airport in Ireland or Irish sovereign airspace was being used to transport weapons to the conflict. We know now, because of The Ditch, that was untrue. At least nine flights have carried tens of tonnes of Israeli explosives, ammunition, detonators and parts for fighters through Irish airspace. Will the companies involved, which are breaching neutrality and the law, be prosecuted? Can the Minister guarantee that no other flights, other than those nine flights, have gone through Irish airspace on the way to Israel, or does the Government have a do-not-ask, do-not-tell policy?

We know now------

I thank the Deputy. His time is up.

-----that at least one flight carrying weapons of war from Israel to the US stopped in Shannon Airport. The Government refuses to inspect those planes. Will the Government now agree to start inspections? Members of the Lebanese community in Ireland-----

The Deputy is over time.

-----have called an emergency protest for tomorrow at 5 p.m. at the Dáil, and for Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

I thank Deputy Murphy for raising what is such a deeply important issue for all of us, for the Middle East and for the world. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Government have been at the forefront in responding to and representing the views of the Irish people on the conflict in the Middle East and what this means for the people of Gaza and Lebanon.

The Taoiseach and Tánaiste, who are continuing this approach and this work in New York at the UN at present, have at every stage of this awful conflict made the case for and called for an immediate ceasefire, for the release of all hostages, and for unhindered and free humanitarian access to be provided to ensure those who are left, particularly within Gaza, have access to the care they need in conditions that are truly awful and terrible. The Government will continue to make the case for this at the UN and to engage with partners within the EU and across the world on this issue. The Deputy will be aware of the initiative under way on the part of Egypt, Qatar and the US to try to put in place the conditions for a ceasefire. We call again for that to happen and to be adhered to.

On the point the Deputy has made on allegations regarding the passage of munitions through Irish sovereign territory, I inform the Dáil again that, for 2023 and the period to date in 2024, no applications have been received or exemptions granted for the carriage of munitions of war on civil aircraft to a point in Israel. The House, including the Deputy, will be aware of our law in this area. The orders of 1973 and 1989 very explicitly prohibit the passage of munitions on civil aircraft through our airspace. No permission was sought and no permission was given. Of course, I am aware of the issues the Deputy has raised regarding the passage of aircraft through our airspace and the allegations being made in this regard. The Department of Transport is now conducting an examination into these reports and engaging with the carriers involved. We take any such allegations very seriously, but I go back to the substantive issue referred to, which is our ongoing condemnation of the loss of life and our active diplomacy within the EU and the UN to create the conditions for that to come to an end.

The Minister cannot with any sincerity on the one hand condemn the loss of life, saying we are doing everything we can to push for a ceasefire, and then turn a blind eye to weapons travelling through Irish airspace against the law to be used by Israel to commit these war crimes. He cannot in all sincerity claim to be doing everything he is doing to secure a ceasefire while refusing to mention the one thing that enables Israel to do what it is doing, namely the tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons given to it by the US to commit these war crimes. He refuses to mention it and answer the question. Simon Harris should use his position at the UN to call for an end to those weapons, which facilitate the genocide happening and the assault on Israel.

The Minister did not answer the question as to whether any weapons currently being used against the people in Lebanon passed through Irish airspace. We know the same sort of explosives used in the pagers that blew up all across Lebanon, killing children, passed through Irish airspace. We do not know whether they were the exact same ones.

I thank the Deputy. His time is up.

Can the Minister give me a guarantee now that we are not going to find out about any further flights? Is it just the nine flights, or has the Government very consciously adopted a hear-no-evil, see-no-evil approach? It says the right things and tries to pander to public opinion on this-----

The Deputy has gone way over time.

-----but it is not willing to challenge the role of US imperialism, including the passage of weapons to Israel to commit these crimes.

Even in matters of such importance, the Deputy cannot park his normal tactics of allegation and division. The Government has made clear again and again its condemnation of what is happening. It is this Government, with the support of the Oireachtas, that brought forward our recognition of the State of Palestine. It is the same Government that took action to protect UNGA to ensure the distribution of food to those who need it the most. Our Taoiseach and our Tánaiste have been at the front line within the EU in condemning what is happening and calling for and pushing for further action to be taken. The Deputy is looking to create a sense of some kind of tacit support for the passage of anything through our airspace. I have reminded him of what our law is and how it has been implemented and confirmed to him that no permission was sought or given. I do not believe any permission would have been given.

As for the action that will be taken in this regard, as I said, it consists of the investigation that is under way - I am sure the Minister for Transport will be able to give an indication of the outcome from it on its conclusion - and will be the continued implementation of our law saying we do not support and it is illegal for such materials to come into Irish sovereign territory or airspace.