Irish President Michael D. Higgins makes a special mention of the suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip in the Christmas address Saturday.

He said that Gaza becomes a ” crucible of suffering for children and their families”, condemning the international community silence on what have been happening there.

“The silence of many influential figures in the face of gross human rights violations against civilians grants impunity to those who blatantly impose collective punishments on civilians, including starvation, which, as I speak, particularly affects women and children,” Higgins said.