Irish Prime Minister in the White House: In Palestine We See Our History

(Patria) - Palestinians "need the bombs to stop," said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Sunday, speaking during the St. Patrick's Day reception at the White House with Joe Biden, AFP reported.

Biden hosted Varadkar in Washington for the annual visit celebrating the close ties between the United States and Ireland, as ten percent of Americans claim to have ancestral roots there.

"The people of Gaza desperately need food, medicine, and shelter, and above all they need the bombs to stop," Varadkar said as Biden, who is under pressure both internationally and domestically for his support of Israel, watched.

"The aspirations of the Palestinian people to have a homeland and a fully developed state in the land of their ancestors are equal to those of Israel," he added. Varadkar has been one of Europe's most critical leaders regarding the Israeli campaign in Gaza, which began when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing around 1,160 people, mostly civilians. Since then, nearly 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children.

"The Irish people are deeply concerned about the catastrophe unfolding before our eyes in Gaza," Varadkar said.

"We see our history in their eyes, a story of displacement, dispossession, and where questions of national identity are denied. Forced emigration, discrimination, and now hunger," he said, referring to Ireland's bitter memories of the struggle against British rule.

Also known as Taoiseach in Ireland, he said he "always believed that America is a force for good in the world" and praised the US efforts "to secure a humanitarian ceasefire and create space for a lasting peace."

Biden, who often references his own Irish heritage, has become increasingly critical of Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks.

"The Taoiseach and I agree on the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza and reach a ceasefire agreement... that returns (Israeli) hostages home and moves towards a two-state solution," he said on Sunday.

Netanyahu on Sunday again promised that Israeli troops would enter the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are located. The US has demanded a "clear and implementable plan" to protect civilians there, while Varadkar on Sunday called on Israel to abandon the planned incursion.

"I think none of us likes to see American weapons used in the way they are being used. The way they are being used at this moment is not self-defense," Varadkar said after meeting with Biden in the Oval Office.