Ireland to make “strong case for humanitarian Gaza ceasefire,” says Varadkar

The Taoiseach has said Ireland will be making a “strong case for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza” during a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels.

The summit, which will host heads of state from across Europe, is likely to be dominated by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he would also urge other leaders that the EU should not fall into the Hamas “trap” of allowing the crisis to escalate into a regional conflict, and implied that Russia was hoping for such an escalation in order to take focus off Ukraine.

“What Hamas wants is an escalation,” he told reporters at the summit.

“They want to see this conflict spread to the wider region. And there are other people, quite frankly, in other parts of the world who would like to see that too, because it would take the focus off Ukraine, so it’s essential that we don’t fall into that trap.”

As for what Ireland can contribute, he said that his Government would be making a “strong case that there should be a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.”

He said that a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza would serve as an opportunity to get humanitarian aid into the region and get EU citizens out.

“How the response is conducted is important in terms of future security for the whole region, including here in the European Union,” he added.

The Taoiseach stated there were “about 30 Irish-Palestinian citizens in Gaza”.

“We are keen for them to be able to leave Gaza if they want to leave, and that’s currently not possible.”

Earlier this week, Varadkar said that Ireland has no plans to expel the Israeli ambassador, saying it was important to keep lines of communication open between Ireland and Israel.

Varadkar said the “very stark reality” was that even if EU leaders can come to an agreement there was no guarantee of success.

“It is one thing for the United Nations and the European Union to call for a ceasefire or humanitarian pause.”

“Will the Israeli Defense Forces, Hamas, Islamic Jihad abide by it? We don’t know. And, of course, a ceasefire or pause is worth nothing unless everyone abides by it.”