'Europe needs to say stop to the killing and to the slaughter that's going on in Gaza at the moment,' says Micheal Martin
The “shocking” Israeli bombing of Gaza seen over the last 48 hours needs to stop, the Irish taoiseach (prime minister) said Thursday, urging Europe to say "stop to the killing and to the slaughter."
Micheal Martin said the bombing that has occurred over the last 48 hours led to the deaths of so many innocents, while recent statements from Israeli leaders seem to point to “collective punishment of the Palestinians within Gaza."
"It is quite shocking. It needs to stop. Europe needs to say stop to the killing and to the slaughter that's going on in Gaza at the moment," he told reporters ahead of a European Council meeting in Brussels.
EU leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to discuss competitiveness and to follow up on a special March 6 European Council held to address recent developments in Ukraine and the next steps on defense.
Also saying that all the hostages need to be released, Martin also stressed that there is a need to move "very quickly" to phase two of the ceasefire, which was originally agreed and which should be complied with.
"Many people had come back after the (Jan. 19) ceasefire to their homes in the expectation that they were going to experience some degree of peace and harmony, and that has been shattered by what appears to be very indiscriminate bombing” he underlined.
More than 700 Palestinians have been killed and over 900 others injured in renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since Tuesday, shattering the ceasefire agreement that took hold in January.
Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 112,000 injured in a brutal Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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