US President Joe Biden has said he and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar agree on the need to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, adding that a two-state solution is the only path to peace.
Speaking during the shamrock ceremony at the White House, Mr Biden said that the Taoiseach and he also agreed on the urgent need for a ceasefire.
The Taoiseach, who presented the US president with the traditional bowl of shamrock, said that Irish people could see their own history in what is happening in Gaza, in terms of displacement and hunger.
"People ask me why the Irish have such empathy for the Palestinian people, and the answer is simple," he said.
"We see our history in their eyes, a story of displacement, of dispossession, a national identity questioned and denied, forced emigration, discrimination, and now hunger.
"So we support your work, and that of your administration to secure a humanitarian ceasefire and crease the space for everlasting peace.
"The people of Gaza desperately need food, medicine and shelter, and most especially need the bombs to stop.
"This has to stop on both sides. The hostages brought home, and humanitarian relief allowed in."
Mr Varadkar said earlier he would make reference to Gaza during the ceremony.
During the ceremony, Mr Biden, who is known to celebrate his Irish heritage, paid tribute to immigrants who left Ireland for the US and added during his speech: "The Irish spirit can never be overcome."
Mr Biden, who joked that there should be a public holiday the day after St Patrick's Day anytime it falls on a Sunday, recognised 100 years of diplomatic relations between the US and Ireland: "In that time, the ties between us have deepened and multiplied."
He also welcomed Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.
"Young people in Northern Ireland represent the great peace dividend of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. Entire generations whose hearts have been shaped not by grievances of the past but a confidence in a better future that we're writing together. The United States believes in that future."
Mr Biden has hailed the "bonds of friendship" between the US and Ireland during a St Patrick's Day speech at the White House.
Mr Biden, who also spoke about his trip to Ireland in 2023, added: "The Irish are the only people who are nostalgic about the future.
"We believe in better tomorrows, we're always looking for the next horizon. That's a very American trait as well, just more proof that the bonds between Ireland and the United States run deep.
"Our joys, our sorrows, our passions, our dreams, our optimism.
"Even in the most difficult moments, we hold on to hope. We see the world and unlimited possibilities, a future that knows no bounds.
"And we're writing that future now and we're doing it together. Ireland and America. Just as we did for generations."
Mr Varadkar also quoted the words of Mr Biden's son Beau during a speech at the White House.
He said: "Nearly 250 years ago, Irishmen fought as part of your independence struggle. Exactly 100 years ago, the United States became the first country to formally recognise the newly independent Irish State and establish diplomatic relations.
"The exchange of ambassadors recognised the sacred promise that had been made between our peoples, forged over centuries, and reflecting the powerful bond between our countries. This week, meeting so many proud Irish-Americans, I have been thinking a lot about sacred promises.
"I have been thinking, in particular, of the words of one courageous Irish-American, a lawyer and decorated war hero, who spoke so eloquently about 'the sacred promises' we make as leaders.
"To quote his words, it is about, 'the promises we make to our children, who deserve a chance to succeed'. The promises we make to each other. The sacred promise to work for a better future for all. Those were the words of Beau Biden."
Mr Biden wiped his eye after the reference to his son who died in 2015.
The Taoiseach's annual diplomatic meetings in the US capital have been dominated by the war in the Middle East and Ireland's opposing position to the US.
Protests have been held in Dublin and Belfast to coincide with the trip and to push for a more aggressive policy on Gaza from the government as meetings were held with senior US figures.
Mr Varadkar has said throughout the trip that instead of a boycott, Ireland should engage in discussions to highlight issues such as the spiralling number of deaths and injuries in Gaza.
Mr Varadkar held a bilateral with the US President in the Oval Office on Friday where the two leaders discussed the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as Irish-US trade relations.
Mr Biden agreed with Mr Varadkar when he said there needed to be a ceasefire "as soon as possible".
Asked whether he could have partaken in the Oval Office meeting with US President Joe Biden on Friday and then withdrawn from the shamrock ceremony on Sunday, Mr Varadkar said: "I suppose all these things go together."
"I don't think it would have been a wise decision or appropriate for me to take the time in the Oval Office and do that meeting and then turn around a day or two later and say that I wouldn't participate in a ceremony that goes back 40 years," he said.
Mr Varadkar said it would be a "misimpression" if people thought the trip to Washington DC was "just a single event that lasts for an hour where there are speeches and a bowl of shamrocks handed over".
Although he said previously that the US should not be sending arms to Israel, the Taoiseach added he "wasn't shocked" that the US would continue to, as it was long established policy.
He said: "I would struggle to understand why other people would be shocked at that, perhaps they need to spend a bit more time reading foreign policy, because that is the established position of the US.
"I appreciate we live in a world where everyone has to be angry all the time and is encouraged to get angry and then when you're not angry, you're asked 'why aren't you angry?'
"That's not the way I operate."
Mr Varadkar added: "What you do then is you do all you can to work for a ceasefire, to encourage our American and European partners to work towards that, to increase our humanitarian aid for Palestine, which we've done.
"So we're doing everything we can, that's practical, given our influence in the world, to push for a ceasefire and for lasting peace.
"I understand why other people may become consumed by anger.
"It's just never a way that I've done my job."
