U2 frontman Bono has said in a statement that he feels "revulsion" for the "moral failure" in Gaza, adding that he has tried to "stay out of the politics of the Middle East".
The singer, who had been criticised for not speaking publicly about Gaza, and his decision to accept the Medal of Freedom from then-US President Joe Biden earlier this year, said in the statement that his lack of commentary came from "uncertainty in the face of obvious complexity".
He said that "Israel's revenge for the Hamas attack appeared more and more disproportionate and disinterested in the equally innocent civilian lives in Gaza".
"The Government of Israel is not the nation of Israel, but the Government of Israel led by Benjamin Netanyahu today deserves our categorical and unequivocal condemnation," he said.
Bono said he has long believed in Israel's right to exist and supported a two-state solution.
"I want to make clear to anyone who cares to listen our band's condemnation of Netanyahu’s immoral actions and join all who have called for a cessation of hostilities on both sides," he said.
"Our band stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine who truly seek a path to peace and coexistence with Israel and with their rightful and legitimate demand for statehood.
"We stand in solidarity with the remaining hostages and plead that someone rational negotiate their release."
He said he previously felt he should concentrate on AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa, and said "the hemorrhaging of human life in Sudan or Ethiopia hardly makes the news".
"But but but… there is no hierarchy to such things," he continued.
Bono said the images of "starving children on the Gaza Strip" reminded him of a trip he made to Ethiopia with his wife Ali Hewson almost 40 years ago.
"To witness chronic malnutrition up close would make it personal for any family, especially as it affects children," he said.
"Because when the loss of non-combatant life en masse appears so calculated… especially the deaths of children, then 'evil' is not a hyperbolic adjective."
Bono said the Palestinian people have "for decades endured and continue to endure marginalization, oppression, occupation, and the systematic stealing of the land that is rightfully theirs.
"Given our own historic experience of oppression and occupation, it's little wonder so many here in Ireland have campaigned for decades for justice for the Palestinian people."
He continued: "We know Hamas are using starvation as a weapon in the war, but now so too is Israel and I feel revulsion for the moral failure.
"The Government of Israel is not the nation of Israel, but the Government of Israel led by Benjamin Netanyahu today deserves our categorical and unequivocal condemnation.
"There is no justification for the brutality he and his far right government have inflicted on the Palestinian people… in Gaza… in the West Bank.
"And not just since October 7, well before it too… though the level of depravity and lawlessness we are seeing now feels like uncharted territory."
