Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin has condemned an Israeli airstrike on a camp for displaced Palestinians, describing it as “barbaric”.
Speaking in Brussels on Monday, Mr Martin, Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister, called for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
At least 45 people were killed in the attack on the southern Gaza town of Rafah, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry.
Earlier, Hamas had fired eight rockets from Rafah towards Tel Aviv – the first long-range attacks on the central Israeli city since January.
Mr. Martin said there is no military solution to the conflict and criticized any group that uses violence or terrorism to eliminate the state of Israel or Palestine.
“I condemn yesterday’s violence. The rockets fired at Tel Aviv and the horrific attack on the Rafah refugee camp, where innocent children and civilians were killed,” he said.
Mr Martin added: “What we saw last night is barbaric. Gaza is a very small enclave, a densely populated agglomeration.
“You cannot bomb such an area without shocking consequences for innocent children and civilians.”
Israeli military operations in Rafah have continued despite an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on Friday ordering their halt.
Mr Martin was speaking after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, where he said the prospect of sanctions against Israel if the country did not comply with the International Court of Justice rulings had been discussed.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Simon Harris has said sanctions against Israel should not be “off the table”.
He called the airstrike on Rafah “absolutely unimaginable and unconscionable.”
“We saw last night how Israel attacked a displacement center, a place where parents were told to flee with their children, and they bombed it,” he said.
“As far as sanctions are concerned, I don’t think anything can be off the table when it comes to Israel, especially with what we see happening right now in Rafah, when we see the international community being ignored, when we see international courts are being ignored,” he told Ireland AM.
Earlier this month, Ireland was one of three European countries to announce plans to officially recognize a Palestinian state.
Ireland, Norway and Spain will formally recognize Palestinian statehood on Tuesday.
“We recognized that we were not pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli, but pro-peace,” Mr. Harris said.
