I join with the Cathaoirleach in marking Taiwan's national day. I wish them the very best.

Further to what has been said by my colleagues about what is happening in the Middle East, Hamas has been armed by God knows who. Clearly it is saying the Iranians were not a part of this attack and we must acknowledge that. Both Hamas and the Iranians have said it and we must acknowledge that. However, we are very quick to jump on other countries when something like what happened this horrible weekend happens, which is only the start. It has only started and my fear is that by the time Israel extends its defence and the right to defend its people, there will be nothing left of Gaza. It will be razed to the ground. We must start asking who is behind who in this because there are forces from the West and forces from the East and they are supporting both sides. Who pays the price? It is women, children and old people with Parkinson's disease being dragged off as hostages.

We must be real at some stage. I have been listening to talk about the need for peace talks in the Middle East since Adam was a boy and we have got nowhere. There is a little step forward and then four steps back and the thing gets worse and worse. Everybody who has a piece of this on his or her plate needs to come out and be honest. Israel has been supported by the West and I would not like to live in Israel where at any stage and time, rockets could come my way. However, not unlike Northern Ireland during the Troubles, people in communities tolerated these terrorists who were prepared to wage war on the other side, knowing that some of them would die as a result, that innocent people would die as a result of it. We saw how the IRA and Red Hand Commandos did deals to kill off each other. If I did not like you, I could get one of the Ulster Volunteer Force, UVF, guys to shoot you and in return, they would get a republican to shoot one of their guys. War is filthy. We have to question ourselves and we must be honest. Support Israel - yes - but is it justifiable to take out an entire apartment block because one apartment is inhabited by some guy from Hamas? We will never encourage the local population to turn against Hamas if we start destroying everything in the place. It is utterly inhuman to cut off fuel, water and food. I do not care how bad things are. Cutting off the basics for life is totally unacceptable. I support Israel's need to defend itself but I also support innocent women, children and old people who are suffering today in Gaza. We have to switch back on the power to live. We have to give them that. The Israeli army is big enough to go in and find everybody from Hamas and take them out if it wanted to. Do not kill innocent people.

I also want to raise the situation in Gaza and Israel. The situation has obviously become so dangerous, it is necessary for us to schedule time to discuss the hostilities there. A decisive international intervention is needed to end the hostilities and bring about a lasting resolution to the Palestinian question. We need a discussion about what role Ireland can play to show leadership and to work with the international community to secure peace. Remember that Ireland can be very constructive on these issues. We have shown that before and the Oireachtas has found consensus on these issues, including recognising the state of Palestine. We have condemned the annexation and confiscation of land, while at the same time the international community has facilitated the breach of international law, collective punishment, the annexation of land and an apartheid regime. Can I remind the House that Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that it is illegal for an occupying power to "deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies"? Ireland needs to move beyond what has often been a good analysis of the situation in the Middle East and press our international partners.

The international community cannot stand idly by as this dangerous situation intensifies. The targeting of civilians is completely wrong and the deaths of the young people are horrific. Equally, the bombardment of Gaza is to be condemned. There is a new urgency for decisive international intervention and rigorous and impartial international leadership.

I, too, support calls for a debate in this Chamber on what has been ongoing since the weekend. As has been said, it is important that the international community come together and that we debate this matter in the House to determine where we can go. We have all seen the horrific videos and photographs online of innocents being destroyed in this conflict. I totally support what has been said to the effect that a debate in this House is warranted at this stage.

I wish to refer to the important ESRI report of last week on gambling. It is an issue I have spoken about previously in this House with colleagues right across the political spectrum. For the first time in a long time, we have seen the figures that those on the front line have been telling us about. There are 130,000 adults engaging in problem gambling, which basically means they are gambling with money they simply do not have. It is something that those on the front line have mentioned on previous occasions. They have been told that what they said was not the truth, but the ESRI has come forward with figures that it is standing over. The figures are reflected in the number of people coming to my clinics and to those of colleagues throughout the Houses to discuss problem gambling. It does not affect 130,000 people alone because it is said that a problem gambler affects up to six other people, be they family members, friends or indeed members of the community.

I appreciate the work being done by the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, on introducing a gambling regulation Bill, but we cannot sit idly by now. We must ensure the legislation comes before this House and proceeds as quickly as possible through the Lower House. We must see it implemented as quickly as possible. It is great to see the regulator in situ. I have spoken to her and have been at conferences where she has spoken, and I believe that we can make a difference for the 130,000 affected people, and indeed the 250,000 who have shown signs of problem gambling. It is a mental health issue and a public health issue, and it is something we need to address.

In the time left, I want to raise an issue that I know other public representatives have raised, namely the subject of a recent meeting I attended in Suncroft, County Kildare, organised by Tracey Clarke Kiely. It relates to public transport. The people of Suncroft are struggling with their current public transport because, simply put, it is not fit for purpose. They have a service that gets them into the urban centres of Newbridge and Kildare town at very awkward times such that they cannot do their business, participate in education, attend doctors' appointments or socialise. I have spoken to Local Link about this and it is very much on board. I ask that the Minister for Transport be invited to the House once again to discuss rural transport so the good people of Suncroft and the surrounding areas can get a transport system for themselves that is actually fit for purpose.

I call Senator Black. I congratulate her on her concert in Cork.

I thank the Cathaoirleach. As others have said, what is happening in Palestine and Israel right now is absolutely heartbreaking. I extend heartfelt condolences to all the Israeli and Palestinian people who have lost loved ones. Thousands are dead and many more will likely die in the coming days and weeks. If we want this cycle of violence and repression to end, we need to understand and act on the root causes of this tragedy: the occupation of Palestine, the siege of Gaza and the failure to enforce international law. I was in Gaza back in 2018. It is horrific. It has been an open-air camp since 2006. It is populated mostly with refugees from the surrounding towns and agricultural communities who have been displaced by Israeli ethnic cleansing in what is now southern Israel. Gaza is the youngest and most densely populated place on this earth. In an area half the size of County Louth, over 2.5 million people, half of them children, try to survive without access to food, water and medicine, and that is in a time of supposed peace.

Now that war has been declared Israel is blocking access to electricity, food and fuel while it indiscriminately bombards Gaza. This is collective punishment and targeting civilian populations, both of which are war crimes. Most Gaza residents have never left the small areas they are confined to. They have never known life outside a cage. In 2018, thousands of Gazans, independent of the Palestinian political factions, organised the march for return where they marched peacefully towards the border fence day after day protesting their confinement. I was there just days before and spoke to those who marched peacefully, knowing what may come. Some 223 Palestinians were killed, including children and medical personnel. Thousands more were shot by Israeli snipers who aimed at marchers' knees and ankles in order to disable them. The horrible violence of these past days cannot be understood without acknowledging the senseless cruelty inflicted on those who have resisted occupation non-violently. The rhetoric from the Israeli Government in response to the latest attack is openly genocidal.

As always, Ireland should be a firm voice for de-escalation and the protection of civilians in the immediate term. We need to take decisive action to support political efforts to end the Israeli apartheid and occupation. Political inaction and international apathy make violence inevitable. Civilians are suffering. The status quo is broken and I commend the Department of Foreign Affairs on its principled stance on continuing aid to Palestine - it was wonderful to see that there was some hope - and in calling for the de-escalation in line with our shared commitment to international law. We have to do something and we have to face reality for the Gazan people today. It is horrific and absolutely wrong. I call for an urgent debate on this issue.