Simon Harris: 'The world must be ashamed' as Gaza death toll passes 40,000

International aid organisations say women and children account for around 72% of the death toll.

It comes as international mediators gathered for a new round of talks aimed at halting the bombardment of Gaza and securing the release of scores of Israeli hostages.

Some 10 months into Israel's war on Gaza, which was sparked in response to the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack, it is estimated that 85% of the population has been displaced in Gaza, with many moving multiple times as Israel issues evacuation orders.

Officials in Gaza say 92,401 Palestinian people have also been wounded.

Calling for a ceasefire, Simon Harris said: "40,000 dead in Gaza is a milestone the world must be ashamed of. International diplomacy has failed to protect innocent children, some only days old.

Israel needs to stop the bombings. Hamas needs to release the hostages. EU needs to review association agreement. Ceasefire now.

Pleading for an end to the fighting, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said: "This unimaginable situation is overwhelmingly due to recurring failures by the Israeli Defence Forces to comply with the rules of war.

"On average, about 130 people have been killed every day in Gaza over the past 10 months. The scale of the Israeli military’s destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, and places of worship is deeply shocking."

Hunger and disease is also spreading rapidly through the strip, due to a severe lack of access to clean water, food, and essential medical equipment.

The volume of aid entering Gaza has more than halved since early May, from a daily average of 169 trucks in April to less than 80 trucks in June and July.

Since the beginning of August about a third of aid missions within Gaza were denied access by Israeli authorities, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"There are many people who are dying every day, not only because of the bombing, but because of malnutrition, of diseases, of the lack of medical care, and lack of food," ActionAid's Riham Jafari told the Irish Examiner.

ActionAid Ireland CEO Karol Balfe said the 40,000 death toll is "incomprehensible" but added that the ongoing atrocity could have been prevented.

Most governments across the world have refused to do the bare minimum to protect civilian life, and this is to our collective shame. We are losing confidence each day in the concept of justice in its entirety.

“We call for the imposition of sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on Israeli officials linked to alleged violations of international humanitarian law," she said.

"Every day that you choose to avoid this as a reality, this death toll will keep rising until there is nobody left in Gaza alive.”

This was echoed by Fikr Shalltoot of Medical Aid for Palestinians, a Trócaire partner organisation, who said: "Many people are losing hope and some are losing faith, but mostly people are losing trust in the international community. They are angry and disappointed and believe that the world has failed them and let them down."

Meanwhile, the US, Qatar, and Egypt yesterday met with an Israeli delegation in Qatar.

Hamas, which did not participate directly, accuses Israel of adding new demands to a previous proposal that had US and international support and to which Hamas had agreed in principle.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby called the talks an important step and said they were expected to continue today. He said a lot of work remains, given the complexity of the agreement.