Key Points

• An air strike on a hospital in Gaza has resulted in hundreds of casualties which Israel’s military has denied responsibility for. It said military intelligence suggested the hospital was hit by a failed rocket launch by the enclave’s Palestinian Islamic Jihad military group, who have also denied responsibility for it
• Israel has dismissed calls for a ceasefire, saying the war ‘will be tough and will be long’
• Israel bombed areas of southern Gaza where it told Palestinians to flee ahead of an expected invasion on Tuesday, killing dozens of people
• Israel’s strike on the Gaza Strip intensified in advance of an expected ground incursion, as the war entered its 11th day. Israel appears set to mount a big assault on the northern part of the territory aimed at rooting out Hamas
• US president Joe Biden will to travel to Israel to ‘demonstrate his steadfast support’, Martin Wall reports. Mr Biden will also travel to Jordan to meet Arab leaders amid fears the fighting could expand into a broader regional conflict as fighting intensified along Israel’s border with Lebanon
• Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told von der Leyen that some of her statements relating to war have ‘lacked balance’
• The Israeli strikes have killed at least 3,000 people and wounded 12,500 others in Gaza, according to the health ministry there. More than 1,400 Israelis and dozens more have been taken captive and brought to Gaza by militants

Top reads

Hamas and Israel trade blame over air strike on Gaza hospital that killed hundreds

Fintan O’Toole: Humanity is insufficient in Israel-Hamas war because, too often, it only means ‘people like us’

EU vows to be ‘consistent’ in defending international law

Israel pulls out of participation in Web Summit event over Paddy Cosgrave tweets

Ireland is not planning any evacuation flights from Israel, unlike its EU neighbours

Team identifying bodies from Hamas massacre: ‘For every man in here, there’s a family’

From page one of tomorrow’s edition of The Irish Times, Mark Weiss writes from Jerusalem:

Hamas and Israel blamed each other for an air strike at a Gaza City hospital on Tuesday night that health authorities said killed at least 300 people.

Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes as terrified residents fled the hospital, with a huge fire burning in the compound. Hundreds of people were feared trapped under the rubble.

The Gaza authorities immediately said Israel was responsible for the attack, but in a statement the Israeli army said intelligence analysis had determined conclusively that the blast had been caused by an Islamic Jihad projectile aimed at Israel that fell short, hitting the Al-Ahli Baptist hospital. Islamic Jihad denied the Israeli claim.

Thousands of Gaza residents had reportedly fled to the hospital over the last few days, believing they would be relatively safe there from incessant Israeli air strikes, launched in the wake of the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7th that killed 1,400 people in Israel, most of them civilians – the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history.

Health authorities in Gaza say that prior to the hospital strike at least 3,000 people in the strip had been killed in the Israeli bombardment, while some 600,000 people have fled to the south of the coastal enclave after Israeli military warnings.

A Gaza civil defence chief said on Al-Jazeera television that more than 300 people had been killed in the hospital strike, while a Gaza health ministry source said the death toll was least 500. Both departments are under the government of Hamas, the militant organisation that rules the Gaza Strip.

Read the full story here.

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has said he was satisfied the missile strike on the Gaza hospital was not launched by Israeli forces.

“I have no doubt that [the Israeli military’s] examination of what happened is accurate and this was not an Israeli rocket,” he said of the attack that is reported to have killed hundreds of people in Gaza and overwhelmed emergency responses.

Mr Olmert, speaking on RTE’s Primetime programme, said Hamas had announced it was firing rockets on the northern Israeli city of Haifa but that the area was not hit.

“One of them landed in the hospital in Gaza and unfortunately caused this terrible disaster,” he said.

“Israel is not responsible. It was not committed by us, we were not aiming at the hospital.”

A Palestinian protester was shot dead by Israeli forces during confrontations in the Nabi Saleh village, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian health ministry said late on Tuesday. – Reuters

A further report from the Continent from our Europe Correspondent Naomi O’Leary:

Europe must be consistent in demanding respect for international law wherever conflicts occur in the world, European Council president Charles Michel said on Tuesday night after national leaders met for extraordinary talks on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The meeting was called after fears that a discordant response to the conflict was harming the standing of the European Union as an international voice for the rule of law, and undermining its relations with the developing world and Arab states.

Mr Michel, whose role is to chair the meetings of the 27 national leaders and lead its priorities, said that the EU’s foreign affairs policy had to be based on “unity” and “consistency”.

“We all must stand up and defend peace, international law, and humanitarian law everywhere, everywhere in the world at all times,” Mr Michel said. “That is the rule of law.”

Read the full story here.

Unicef, the UN agency for children, has condemned the strike on the hospital.

The agency said in a statement:

“UNICEF strongly condemns the strike on the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza with hundreds of civilians reported killed and injured. We call for the protection of all civilians, including children, and the infrastructure they rely on. We need an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian access.”

Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane has said that the attack on the hospital in Gaza is “a massace” and a “war crime”.

“The International community cannot turn a blind eye and look the other way,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“This is a humanitarian tragedy unfolding before our very eyes.”

In the West Bank, hundreds of demonstrators marched in Ramallah’s central Manara Square, with some chanting in support of Hamas militant leaders.

Clashes with Palestinian security forces also broke in the West Bank cities of Nablus, Tubas and Jenin, a northern city that was the focus of major Israeli military operations earlier this year, according to witnesses.

The outbreak of West Bank protests highlights long-simmering Palestinian anger against Abbas, whose forces have long faced criticism for co-ordinating with Israel on security in the territory. – Reuters

The Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas, said at least 500 people had been killed in the explosion at Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist hospital, and the death toll was likely to rise. A spokesperson for the Gaza civil defence put the number of killed at about 300.

The Israeli military reportedly said an initial investigation suggested the explosion was caused by a failed Hamas rocket launch, but the scale of the blast appears to be outside the militant group’s capabilities.

Footage broadcast from the ground by Al Jazeera showed a huge fire engulfing the multistorey building, with bodies, streaks of blood and widespread debris scattered around. The hospital, which is owned by the Anglican church, was reportedly struck without any prior warning. It was previously hit by a rocket on Saturday.

The hospital was hit at about 8.30pm local time on Tuesday. It was packed with people injured in Israeli strikes, as well as civilians seeking shelter, believing the hospital grounds to be safer than their homes after relentless Israeli attacks that have already killed more than 3,000 people.

The incident is already the biggest single loss of life in Gaza in the five wars between Hamas and Israel since the militants took over the strip in 2007.

Dr Ziad Shehadah told Al Jazeera: “What’s happened is terrible because those people, all of them, are civilians. They fled their homes and reached a place that they believed was safe – a hospital, which according to international law, is a safe place.

“People left their homes thinking they were more dangerous and they move to our schools and hospitals to be safe. And in one minute, all of them have been killed at a hospital.”

The Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, would not immediately confirm its forces bombed the hospital.

Aid agencies and governments around the world were quick to condemn the bombing as a war crime. – Guardian

Investigation shows attack was failed Islamic jihad rocket launch, says Israeli embassy in Dublin

In a statement to The Irish Times, the Embassy of Israel in Ireland said an Israeli Defence Forces “investigation shows the rocket attack on a hospital in Gaza was a failed rocket launched by Islamic jihad”.

Civilian infrastructure should not be targeted, says Varadkar

From our reporter Mark Hilliard:

Commenting on the Gaza hospital strike on Tuesday night, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said they did not yet have all the information but that civilian infrastructure should not be targeted.

“There is evidence that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure as a cover for its operations but that doesn’t justify operations that may cause the deaths of hundreds of civilians,” he said.

Attack on hospital ‘a massacre’, says Doctors Without Borders

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders have released a statement on the attack of the hospital.

“We are horrified by the recent bombing of Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, which was treating patients and hosting displaced Gazans. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed. This is a massacre. It is absolutely unacceptable.

“We were operating in the hospital, there was a strong explosion, and the ceiling fell on the operating room. This is a massacre,” says Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah, MSF doctor in Gaza.

“Nothing justifies this shocking attack on a hospital and its many patients and health workers, as well as the people who sought shelter there. Hospitals are not a target. This bloodshed must stop. Enough is enough.”

Israel denies responsibility for attack on hospital

Israel’s military denied responsibility for an attack on a Gaza hospital on Tuesday, saying military intelligence suggested the hospital was hit by a failed rocket launch by the enclave’s Palestinian Islamic Jihad military group.

“An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit,” a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

“Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza.” – Reuters

Michel: ‘An attack against civilian infrastructure is not in line with international law’

European Council president Charles Michel, responding to a reported Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital, said on Tuesday that attacks on civilian infrastructure were not in line with international law.

After an emergency video conference of European Union leaders, Mr Michel said the report “seems to be confirmed” and added: “An attack against civilian infrastructure is not in line with international law.”

Israel’s military said it was “still ironing out all the details” on reports of strikes on the hospital and a school. – Reuters

Palestinian security forces fire tear gas on West Bank protesters

Palestinian security forces in central Ramallah fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters throwing rocks and chanting against president Mahmoud Abbas, as popular anger boiled over after a deadly attack on a Gaza hospital on Tuesday.

Clashes with Palestinian security forces broke out in a number of other cities in the occupied West Bank late on Tuesday, according to witnesses. – Reuters

At least 940 children killed in Gaza since October 7th, says Hamas government

Earlier on Tuesday, before the strike on the hospital took place, the Hamas government media office said at least 940 children and 1,032 women have been killed in the besieged Gaza enclave since October 7th. – Reuters

Abbas cancels meeting with Biden following hospital strike

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas has cancelled a planned meeting with US president Joe Biden, following a reported Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital on Tuesday that killed hundreds, a senior Palestinian official said.

The meeting was due to take place in Jordan. The senior Palestinian official said Abbas was returning to Ramallah, the seat of his government in the occupied West Bank. – Reuters

Hospital strike ‘absolutely unacceptable’, says Canada’s Trudeau, Jordan and Qatar condemn attack

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said a reported Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza was “horrific and absolutely unacceptable”.

Mr Trudeau made his remarks when asked about the strike, which health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave said had killed hundreds of people.

Canada has stressed that Israel must abide by international law as it strikes back against Hamas.

“The news coming out of Gaza is horrific and absolutely unacceptable ... international law needs to be respected in this and in all cases. There are rules around wars and it’s not acceptable to hit a hospital,” Mr Trudeau told reporters.

Egypt also denounced “in strongest terms” an Israeli air strike on a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds of Palestinians, saying the international community must urgently intervene to stop such violations, according to a foreign ministry statement released late on Tuesday.

Jordan and Qatar have also condemned the strike. – Reuters

WHO condemns hospital strike

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the World Health Organisation have strongly condemned the attack on Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Dr Ghebreyesus said that “early reports indicate hundreds of deaths and injuries”.

He also called for the immediate protection of civilians and for the evacuations orders previously issued by Israel to be reversed.

Some ‘inconsistency’ in the EU position on Israel, says Tánaiste’s spokesman

From our political reporter Jack Horgan-Jones:

A spokesman for Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin said there had been some “inconsistency” in the EU position on Israel and the Middle East in the last few years but that Mr Martin would not “personalise it” to Ms von der Leyen, who he said had been “crucial” to formulation of an aid package for Palestine, and that the EU had been “unambiguous” in its language that international humanitarian law should be applied at all times.

A spokesman for Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said that his view was that while Israel had a right to defend itself, it had to comply with its obligations regarding proportionality and collective punishment.

Referring to the Taoiseach’s comments during Leaders’ Questions that Ms von der Leyen’s comments “lacked balance”, he indicated Mr Ryan shared that view.

The Government press secretary referred journalists to social media posts by Ms von der Leyen calling for humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza.

Photos show hospital in flames

Photos from the Al-Ahli Hospital showed fire engulfing the hospital halls, shattered glass and bodies scattered across the area.

Several hospitals in Gaza City have become refuges for hundreds of people, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli military spokesman rear adm Daniel Hagari said there were still no details on the hospital deaths, adding: “We will get the details and update the public. I don’t know to say whether it was an Israeli air strike.” – AP

Air strike on hospital results in at least 500 deaths

There were at least 500 people dead as a result of an air strike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza Strip, spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza said on Tuesday. – Reuters

Israel dismisses calls for ceasefire

From our Europe Correspondent Naomi O’Leary in Brussels:

“I don’t think now is the time for a ceasefire. Israel was attacked brutally. It’s still being attacked,” spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry Lior Haiat told reporters, adding that Hamas rockets continued to hit Israeli cities.

“This war will be tough and will be long but we have to win this war because we cannot allow a reality that on the other side of our border there are monsters who are coming to kill us, butcher us, execute us. There’s no way Israel could allow it.”

Six killed in Israeli air strike on UN school

At least six people have been killed in an Israeli air strike that hit a school run by the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) in Gaza’s Al-Maghazi refugee camp, UNRWA posted on X social media platform. – Reuters

At least five Hizbullah fighters killed in clashes on Lebanon-Israel border

Clashes have erupted along the Lebanon-Israel border, leaving five Hizbullah fighters dead. It is the largest number of casualties for the militant group in a single day as tensions with Israel escalate.

Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza between the Israeli military and the Hamas militant group.

Hizbullah has announced the death of 10 militants since skirmishes began. The escalation comes amid fears that the war could spread into Lebanon, where Hizbullah has expressed strong support for the militant Palestinian group.

Israel considers the heavily armed group in Lebanon as its biggest threat. The group has said a ground incursion into the blockaded Gaza Strip would lead to an escalation.

So far, artillery exchanges between Hizbullah and Israel have been limited to several towns along the border.

Israel has threatened that if Hizbullah opens a new front, all of Lebanon will suffer the consequences.

The international community has scrambled to keep the war from extending into Lebanon, and possibly the rest of the region.

An anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon landed in the town of Metula in northern Israel on Tuesday, wounding three people, according to the Ziv Medical Centre in Safed.

Hours later, Hizbullah issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. It was not clear if the injured were civilians or soldiers, but Israel has ordered civilians to evacuate the area near the border with Lebanon.

Israel responded by striking several areas along the border in southern Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency in Lebanon reported. The Israeli military said its tanks fired back into Lebanon after an anti-tank missile was launched across the border.

Two more anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon at the Yiftah kibbutz in northern Israel without any casualties, the Israeli army said, adding that it had shelled Hizbullah positions in response.

In separate violence earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it killed four militants who had attempted to plant explosive devices on a border wall between Israel and Lebanon. A video from an Israeli army reconnaissance drone showed the militants near the separation wall as they were targeted, causing an explosion.

Hizbullah did not claim responsibility for the attempted cross border attack, nor did any other armed group. However, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants based in Lebanon had done so on previous occasions over the past week. – AP

Aid moves closer to Gaza border but no delivery agreement in place

Egyptian aid trucks moved closer on Tuesday to the only crossing to Gaza not controlled by Israel, but with no agreement in place to deliver relief and the Palestinian side still closed due to strikes it was unclear when they might pass through.

At least 49 people were killed in overnight Israeli bombardment of Rafah, where the crossing is located, and the nearby town of Khan Younis, Gaza’s interior ministry said.

Some people with dual citizenship who have gathered in recent days awaiting the opening of the Rafah crossing began approaching the border on Tuesday, but many said they were staying away due to the air strikes.

After nine hours of negotiations, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said early on Tuesday he had agreed with Israel “to develop a plan” to get aid into Gaza.

Egypt says the Rafah crossing, a vital artery before the fighting and now a key route for desperately needed supplies into the Israeli-besieged Palestinian enclave, has not been officially closed but has become inoperable due to the Israeli air strikes on the Gaza side.

Early on Tuesday some 160 trucks left al-Arish in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, where hundreds of tonnes of aid have been awaiting an agreement on aid delivery, an eyewitness told Reuters.

Ahmed Salem of the Sinai Foundation said that the trucks heading for the border contained Egyptian aid, and that the international aid remained in warehouses in al-Arish.

Salem and another security source said Egypt had repaired the roads within the crossing that had been damaged by Israeli strikes. – Reuters

Scottish first minister calls for refugee programme from international community

Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf has called on the international community to create a refugee programme for those fleeing the hostilities in the Middle East.

Speaking to the SNP conference on Tuesday, Mr Yousaf urged the Israeli government not to use “collective punishment” against the Palestinian people for the actions of Hamas, which he said “can never be justified”.

He told the party faithful there were currently one million people displaced within the Gaza Strip, after Israeli warnings to leave ahead of an expected ground invasion.

Mr Yousaf’s in-laws, Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, are in Gaza with his wife Nadia’s cousin having been injured by shrapnel.

He said: “There are currently around one million people displaced within the Gaza Strip – I am therefore today calling on the international community to commit to a worldwide refugee programme for the people of Gaza.”

Mr Yousaf, whose brother-in-law works as a doctor in Gaza, also called on the UK government to support the medical evacuation of injured civilians in the territory.

The first minister, making his first speech to an SNP conference since taking over as leader in Aberdeen, thanked members for their support since the Hamas attack which stranded his family members.

“This is a party I consider my home, full of people I see as my extended family,” he said.

“I have never felt the love, kindness and solidarity of the SNP family as much as I have over the last 10 days.

“So on my behalf, and on behalf of Nadia, my girls and our family in Gaza, from the bottom of my heart, let me say thank you.”

Mr Yousaf spent the end of last week with both the Jewish and Palestinian communities in Scotland, telling members they are “communities I love”.

“I want you to know that as First Minister and as a fellow human being, I share the pain and sorrow you are feeling,” he said.

“I have attended your synagogues, your churches and your mosques. You are communities I have grown up with, danced with, laughed with, and in this last week, that I have shed many tears with.

“Each and every person in Scotland, from all of the vibrant communities of our nation, must feel safe here.

“As long as I am first minister, let me be abundantly clear, there is no room for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or hatred of any kind here in Scotland.” – PA

Some 3,000 Palestinians killed since October 7th

Around 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and 12,500 wounded in the Gaza Strip since October 7th, the Palestinian health ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry added that 61 Palestinians were also killed while 1,250 were wounded in the West Bank during the same period. – Reuters

Varadkar says he told von der Leyen her initial statements on Israel ‘lacked balance’

Some of the statements European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has made in relation to the Israel-Hamas war have “lacked balance”, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.

Mr Varadkar said he had told Ms von der Leyen this, and that he had “no difficulty saying that”.

Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Tuesday, the Taoiseach said some of her more recent statements, specifically talking about the tripling of EU humanitarian aid for Gaza and attempts to organise a UN humanitarian air bridge through Egypt were “more balanced”.

Mr Varadkar said Ireland would be calling for a de-escalation of conflict at the extraordinary meeting of the European Council on Tuesday afternoon via video. He said each EU member state had its own foreign policy, and there was only a common EU foreign policy “when we agree to have one”.

The Fine Gael leader reiterated that the Government “unreservedly” condemned the attack by Hamas and other militant groups on Israel and demanded the release of all hostages without any conditions “immediately”.

Read the full story from Sarah Burns and Jennifer Bray here.

Israel bombs Gazan areas where Palestinians told to flee, killing dozens

Israel has bombed areas of southern Gaza where it told Palestinians to flee ahead of an expected invasion, killing dozens of people.

Violence along Israel’s border with Lebanon has also led to concerns over a widening regional conflict that diplomats have been working to prevent.

In Gaza, people wounded in the air strikes were rushed to hospital after heavy attacks outside the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, residents reported.

Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that an Israeli air strike in the central Gaza Strip killed one of its top commanders.

An air strike in Deir al Balah reduced a house to rubble, killing nine members of the family living there. Three members of another family that had evacuated from Gaza City were killed in a neighbouring home. The dead included one man and 11 women and children. Witnesses said there was no warning before the strike.

The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas hideouts, infrastructure and command centres.

“When we see a target, when we see something moving that is Hamas, we’ll take care of it. We’ll handle it,” said Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman.

More than 1 million Palestinians have fled their homes, and 60 per cent are now in the approximately eight-mile area south of the evacuation zone, the UN said. Aid workers warned that the territory was near complete collapse with ever-decreasing supplies of water and medicine and with power running out at hospitals.

At the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt, truckloads of aid were waiting to go into the tiny, densely populated territory, and trapped civilians – many of them Palestinians with dual nationalities – were hoping desperately to get out. – AP

No increase in Ireland terror threat level

There are no plans to change the terrorist threat level in Ireland following attacks in France and Belgium and ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine, writes Irish Times crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher.

Countries across the EU have increased internal security amid fears the violence in the Middle East may spur further attacks on European soil.

Last Friday, a suspected Islamic extremist stabbed a teacher to death and injured three others at a school in northern France. On Monday night, a man shot dead two Swedish soccer fans as they visited Brussels for an international match. The gunman was later shot dead. Belgian authorities have called the shooting an Islamic terror attack and say the victim were specifically targeted as they were wearing Swedish jerseys.

However, the threat level in Ireland remains at “moderate”, indicating that “an attack is possible but not likely”. This will remain the case unless there are “significant developments”, a security source said.

Sources say that while there are a small number of people who could be classified as Islamic extremists in Ireland and are monitored by garda, there is little risk of a terror attack. Those involved in extremism are mainly suspected of financing activities in other countries, rather than planning attacks.

Authorities are also of the view that the attacks in France and Belgium were motivated by specific circumstances and do not necessarily reflect a general rise in the risk from Islamic terrorism. For example, there has been increased tension in Sweden due to several recent incidents of Korans being burnt in public.

“We are keeping the international situation under constant review,” an Irish security source added.

Web Summit founder apologises following backlash from Israel

Paddy Cosgrave, founder of the Web Summit tech conference, has issued an apology over recent comments he made on social media about the Israel-Hamas conflict, which drew criticism from supporters of Israel.

In a previous post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Cosgrave said “war crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.”

He said he was “shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland’s government, who for once are doing the right thing”.

In a subsequent post, he added the actions of Hamas were “outrageous and disgusting”.

The initial comments led several figures across the tech world to state they would not participate in future Web Summit events. While Dor Shapira, the Israeli ambassador to Portugal, said Israel would also boycott the event, which takes place in Lisbon.

Following the backlash, Mr Cosgrave issued a lengthy apology on Tuesday.

“I understand that what I said, the timing of what I said, and the way it has been presented has caused profound hurt to many”, he said.

“What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that. Web Summit has a long history of partnership with Israel and its tech firms, and I am deeply regretful that those friends were hurt by any of what I said,” he said.

“I unequivocally support Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself. I unequivocally support a two-state solution,” he said.

“Like so many figures globally, I also believe that, in defending itself, Israel should adhere to international law and the Geneva conventions,” he said.

“My aim is and always has been to strive for peace. Ultimately, I hope with all my heart that this can be achieved,” he said.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said Ireland will push for additional funding for the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees, to help avert a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.

Mr Martin, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs, discussed the need for extra funding with the head of the UN agency, Philippe Lazzarini, on Monday night.

Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher has joined those criticising Ursula von der Leyen, who he said “does not have the authority to decide Union foreign policy”.

In a statement, Mr Kelleher said the commission president “needs to reflect on her actions over the last nine days, especially if she is considering seeking a second term”.

“Unless I hear her say clearly that Israel must operate under the rules of the Geneva Convention and applicable international law, I will find it very difficult to consider giving her a second mandate after the next elections,” he said.

Hungary’s Orbán meets with Putin ahead of EU talks

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban met with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and expressed support for maintaining the countries’ ties, in a rare meeting with a European leader since Russia invaded Ukraine, Naomi O’Leary reports.

Mr Orban has maintained relations with Moscow since the invasion and has often sought to weaken or block European Union sanctions against Russia, and Hungary is seen as the big obstacle to Ukraine starting EU membership talks this year.

The meeting took place in Beijing, where Mr Putin has travelled to attend a Chinese summit on overseas infrastructure investment in a rare overseas trip since the International Criminal Court issued an international arrest warrant for him on allegations of the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from Ukraine, a war crime.

The meeting is sure to raise eyebrows when EU leaders meet for talks later.

Our Europe Correspondent Naomi O’Leary has details below of the man suspected to have killed two Swedish football fans in Brussels last night.

The incident is expected to be discussed when EU leaders hold extraordinary talks this evening, as part of their discussions were due to focus on the potential risks that the conflict in the Middle East could fuel violence in Europe or cause a new wave of migration.

Belgian authorities have named the suspect as a 45-year-old rejected asylum seeker from Tunisia who had been on their radar for extremist leanings.

After an overnight manhunt he was spotted by a member of the public in a cafe in the district of Schaerbeek, Belgian prosecutors said in a statement.

“The police arrived at the scene and during the intervention, the suspect was shot,” the statement read.

Emergency services tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead in hospital, it added. The shooting incident is being investigated by Belgian prosecutors.

“A military weapon and a bag of clothes were found in the bar,” the statement read.

The man was suspected of killing two Swedish citizens and injuring a third in a shooting on Monday as Belgium and Sweden were about to play a Euro 2024 qualifier match in the capital.

In a video published online, a man thought to be the suspect declared responsibility for the attack and said he had sought revenge by killing Swedes on behalf of Muslims.

The match was abandoned at half time when players learned of the attack, and spectators were gradually allowed to leave the stadium under high security.

Several European Union institutions shut their doors to visitors on Tuesday after Belgian authorities raised the country’s terror alert to its top level, and staff were told to work from home.

Call for Hungarian Commissioner to be sacked over Palestinian aid

Irish Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews is among a group of lawmakers to call for the resignation of the Hungarian EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi over his unapproved announcement of a freeze in Palestinian aid last week, Europe Correspondent Naomi O’Leary reports.

In the days after the Hamas attack Mr Varhelyi announced on X, formerly Twitter, that “there can be no business as usual” and “all payments” of European development funds for Palestine would be “immediately suspended”.

The declaration pre-empted a discussion of the matter by the foreign ministers of the European Union that was due to take place the following day, and was taken without consulting other commissioners.

The Department of Foreign Affairs reacted strongly, saying there was “no legal basis for a unilateral decision of this kind by an individual Commissioner and we do not support a suspension of aid”.

In the following days the European Commission walked back the announcement, but has maintained there will be a review of development funding to ensure it does not inadvertently support any terrorist activities.

In a joint letter on Tuesday, MEPs from left-wing, centre-left, green, and liberal parties issued a joint letter calling for Mr Varhelyi “to resign or for him to be relieved of his duties”.

“Commissioner Várhelyi had no authority to unilaterally decide this, nor to officially communicate this on his social media accounts without this decision being taken with due process,” the letter reads.

“Unilaterally, Mr Várhelyi implied through his communication that EU funds used for the promotion of the rule of law, healthcare, education and civil servants’ salaries were likely to have been used to fund Hamas. Yet, according to sources within the Commission, these funds are among the most scrutinised by the Commission.”

The letter notes that it is “not the first time Mr Várhelyi steps out of line and goes against inter-institutional rules”, as he previously obstructed the dispersment of €215 million in EU Palestinian aid due to “unbased allegations concerning Palestinian schoolbooks”.

“Commissioner Várhelyi’s actions undermine not only the image of our institutions, but the trust that EU citizens put in the Commission,” it concludes.

The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Our lead story on the front page of today’s paper focuses on the sharp criticism President Michael D Higgins had for Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, over her approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Her actions, which included a visit to Israel where she offered prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu the EU’s unconditional support, were labelled “thoughtless and even reckless” by Mr Higgins.

You can read our full news report here.

UN body criticises Israeli order for civilians to leave northern Gaza

The direction by Israel for civilians to leave northern Gaza, ahead of an expected ground invasion, could amount to a “breach of international law”, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said.

In a statement on Tuesday, the United Nations human rights body said “appalling” reports of civilians being killed while trying to relocate to southern Gaza needed to be thoroughly investigated.

The UN body said the order from Israel for civilians to leave the densely populated area “must be accompanied by the provision of proper accommodation for all evacuees, undertaken under satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition”.

However, it said there appeared to be “no attempt” by Israel to ensure these conditions for the 1.1 million civilians ordered to leave northern Gaza.

“We are concerned that this order combined with the imposition of a ‘complete siege’ on Gaza may not be considered as lawful temporary evacuation and would therefore amount to a forcible transfer of civilians – in breach of international law,” the statement said.

Reuters is reporting that Turkey claims its foreign minister has spoken with Hamas leaders over the release of Israeli hostages taken during the start of the conflict more than a week ago.

Hakan Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister, reportedly spoke with Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, about the release of prisoners held by the group in the Gaza Strip.

One of the big set pieces today will be the virtual meeting of European Union leaders to discuss the escalating conflict.

The extraordinary meeting is a bid to enforce a coherent response from the block to the conflict as it fuels tensions in Europe and threatens to spread to neighbouring countries, with warnings it could trigger a fresh migration crisis as refugees flee to safety.

At the meeting, which will be held over video conference, Ireland is set to stress the importance of opening a humanitarian corridor to Gaza.

In a statement ahead of the talks, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it was “vital for the leaders of the European Union to set out our common position and establish a unified course of action”

“Israel has a right to defend itself, but it must do so within the parameters of international humanitarian law. The rules of war exist to protect citizens, on all sides,” he said.