The spectre of famine looms over Gaza. Already, children and infants have died of starvation there and scores have been killed as they simply queued for food. Could the Tánaiste set out the Government's response to these issues?

I will firstly respond to the question Deputy Howlin has asked about an independent investigation into the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians as they sought aid in Gaza by saying that like him, I am appalled by the horrible deaths of Palestinians queuing for aid in Gaza City last week. I join the calls made by EU High Representative Borrell and UN Secretary General Guterres, among others, for a credible and impartial investigation to establish the facts of this appalling incident. Those responsible must to be held to account.

International humanitarian law is unambiguous on this point; Israel must protect civilians and ensure basic services in Gaza. The humanitarian crisis that is unfolding is man-made and is completely unacceptable. Civilians in Gaza, many of whom, as the Deputy says, are now on the brink of famine, urgently need the violence to stop. A significant and sustained increase in humanitarian aid is required. All parties to the conflict have a responsibility to ensure there is full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.

Israel must take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Since the ICJ made an order for provisional measures in this regard in late January, humanitarian assistance entering Gaza by land has halved and the World Food Programme, WFP, and UNRWA have had to withdraw from distributing aid in northern Gaza given the deterioration of the security situation.

In recent weeks I have consistently advocated for all partners who suspended funding to UNRWA to rescind this decision immediately. Last month, I announced €20 million in core funding to UNRWA to support the organisation's vital and life-saving work. I welcomed the announcement last week by the EU Commission that it was releasing €50 million of urgently needed funding for UNRWA, with more to follow. This will allow it to continue its essential work.

We continue to focus our diplomatic engagement on the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and a massive scale-up in humanitarian access.

I welcome the views set out by the Tánaiste, but I am anxious to know what is going to happen as a result of those actions. The situation is a crisis. It is like watching what happened in Rwanda where there were mass deaths. The world is outraged, but what is the world to do to prevent an absolute disaster unfolding in front of our very eyes? In terms of the first question, will there be an independent investigation? Have the Tánaiste's calls resulted in bringing that about?

Second, the air drops are obviously entirely ineffective. We have 34,000 or 38,000 meals being delivered to 2 million people from the air, and they are not even delivered where they are needed or accessible. Actually, sometimes they result in more harm because of the disruption that people desperate for food can cause. What are we going to do to ensure that food is delivered before people die in unimaginable numbers?

One of the factors in that appalling incident last week concerning the more than 100 people who were killed was a breakdown in the social order. In my view Israel bears responsibility for that. A number of Gazan policemen were targeted. They were there to at least try and organise the distribution of aid for the UN agencies and then they were targeted by Israeli forces, so they have withdrawn from that. People are desperate. What we are witnessing is understandable desperation on the part of many families. When they see an aid truck coming in, people desperately go to take the aid off the trucks. The UN envoy, Sigrid Kaag, said to the European Foreign Affairs Council that we are on the cusp not just of famine but also of social breakdown. Therefore, the pressure has to be kept on Israel to open more crossings to facilitate more aid going into Gaza. Deputy Howlin is correct that there is a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in front of the world's eyes. What is taking place is appalling.

The problem is the pressure that is being applied is not only ineffectual, but is actually lessening the amount of food going in. The Tánaiste said himself that aid has halved since the International Court of Justice made a ruling. There is no obvious sign of any relenting on the part of the Israeli authorities in terms of the pressure they are keeping. As the Tánaiste also rightly said, they have destroyed any protection that was there to have law and order within Gaza. It is an extraordinarily difficult situation for anybody delivering aid. The international community has to take on that role. Does the Tánaiste not agree? What can we do to marshal that support now to ensure we are not looking back in horror at unimaginable numbers of deaths and wringing our hands that we did not act sooner?

I think we have taken every step open to us in this regard. We showed leadership when UNRWA first came under threat. We were one of the first to come out and say-----

It is, and to undermine it. A significant decision was communicated to us by the President of the European Commission, and this happened directly on account of our stance on the issue. Canada has now followed in restoring aid to UNRWA, so the dial is shifting in that regard. The key issue is that the international community has to put as much pressure on as possible and keep the pressure on to get the trucks into Gaza and, if necessary, to come up with mechanisms - be they international UN forces or whatever - to ensure the safety of convoys into Gaza in order to end famine and the malnutrition that clearly is happening to so many children across Gaza.

I agree with Deputy Howlin on the aid drops. We will discuss that later in a further question. They can never be used as an excuse for not doing the obvious, which is to open up the borders and allow a sufficiency of aid in, at least on a par with what went in before this war started.