The Taoiseach has said Ireland will be making a strong case for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza at a two day summit of European Union leaders in Brussels.
The summit is set to be dominated by the conflict in the Middle East.
However, Leo Varadkar said he would also urge other leaders that the EU should not fall into the Hamas "trap" of allowing the crisis to escalate into a regional conflict.
He hinted that Russia was hoping for such an outcome in order to take the international focus off Ukraine.
"What Hamas wants is an escalation," he told reporters on his arrival at the summit.
"They want to see this conflict spread to the wider region. And there are other people, quite frankly, in other parts of the world who would like to see that too, because it would take focus off Ukraine.
"So it's very important that we don't fall into that trap."
He said: "Ireland will be making a strong case that there should be a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, an opportunity for us to get humanitarian aid in and get EU citizens out, that we fully stand over Israel's right to defend itself, condemn the terrorists who attacked their civilians, but how the response is conducted is important in terms of future security for the whole region, including here in the European Union."
EU member states have been locked in high level negotiations on how to facilitate urgent humanitarian relief for Gaza during the Israeli bombardment, with capitals at odds over whether there should be a ceasefire or a pause in hostilities.
The Taoiseach said he was not "obsessed" over the language that leaders finally land on.
"What we want is the killing and the violence to stop, so that humanitarian aid can get into Gaza, where innocent Palestinian people are suffering, and also to allow us to get EU citizens out," he said.
The Taoiseach added that there were "about 30 Irish-Palestinian citizens in Gaza".
"We're keen for them to be able to leave Gaza if they want to leave. And that's currently not possible."
Mr Varadkar said the "very stark reality" was that even if EU leaders can agree a communique there was no guarantee of success.
"It is one thing for the United Nations and the European Union to call for a ceasefire or humanitarian pause.
"Will the Israeli Defense Forces, Hamas, Islamic Jihad abide by it? We don't know. And, of course, a ceasefire or pause is worth nothing unless everyone abides by it."
He said Hamas had deliberately launched its incursion into Israel on 7 October in order to provoke the Israeli government into a land invasion, to scupper the normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and to trigger a wider regional conflagration.
EU leaders to call for 'pauses' to allow aid into Gaza
EU leaders will call for the establishment of "humanitarian corridors and pauses" to get urgently-needed aid into Gaza, according to the final draft of a text to be approved at a summit in Brussels.
"The European Council expresses its gravest concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and calls for continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses," the text says.
"The European Union will work closely with partners in the region to protect civilians, provide assistance and facilitate access to food, water, medical care, fuel and shelter, ensuring that such assistance is not abused by terrorist organisations."
There have been intense negotiations at diplomatic level this week in the hope that leaders can endorse a pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas so that urgently needed humanitarian supplies can get into Gaza.
Leaders will also discuss the dangers of a regional escalation following the Hamas attacks on 7 October and Israel's heavy bombardment of the Gaza enclave.
A number of EU leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, are arriving in Brussels fresh from visiting Israel.
They will certainly convey the mood within the Israeli government and military and will have a sense of what influence Europe can have, if any.
There has been intense diplomacy this week as national capitals have struggled to find a form of words over whether Israel should pause its bombardments so that food, water, medical supplies and fuel can enter Gaza.
Some member states, notably Germany and Austria, want to ensure that talk of a pause does not cut across what they see as Israel’s right to defend itself.
Diplomats say momentum is heading in that direction, including from the US.
