The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has thanked Ireland for its "moral leadership" on the crisis in Gaza.
During a press conference with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus reiterated his call for a humanitarian ceasefire.
Both Dr Ghebreyesus and Executive Director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme Dr Mike Ryan were in Government Buildings for a discussion on a "range of global and domestic health areas".
They also spoke about an international treaty to provide for "timely and coordinated management" of future pandemics.
Earlier, Dr Ghebreyesus and Dr Ryan met President Michael D Higgins in Áras an Uachtaráin, where they discussed the draft treaty on pandemic preparedness.
At the meeting, also attended by WHO technical Officer Dr Cindi Lewis, Dr Ghebreyesus and Dr Ryan spoke to President Higgins about the situation in Gaza.
They discussed the vital need for greatly increased medical supplies to be allowed in and the disproportionate impact which the violence is having on children and women.
They also talked about the importance of learning from the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic to prepare for any future pandemics.
The WHO officials and President Higgins spoke about "the essential role of multilateralism in building collective arrangements for future pandemics, including discussions around a draft treaty on pandemic preparedness".
In a statement, the president said that Dr Ghebreyesus and Dr Ryan shared with him "the appalling situation on the ground in Gaza and the vital need for greatly increased medical supplies to be provided to those suffering".
President Higgins also said that "it would be difficult to overestimate the importance of the contribution Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus and his team are making to humanity, and how it is giving all of us hope in what are the most horrific of times in terms of loss of civilian life" which he said "deserves our unreserved support".
It is "very important that all of us engage in the debate on the underlying principles which are required in order to deal with future pandemics, including in discussions around a draft treaty on pandemic preparedness, such as that being proposed by the WHO," the president added.
The WHO's 194 member states set up a process to draft a treaty on pandemic preparedness and response in light of the impact of Covid-19.
However, critics say such a treaty would be a threat to national sovereignty.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Ryan said there is nothing in the drafts of the treaty "that in any way compromise the sovereignty of countries", and called for a healthy debate on the issue.
"Effectively what we are looking at here is a collective agreement to say 'how are we going to manage the next pandemic?'
"How are we going to be ready? How are we going to build the technologies or the innovations that we're going to need? How are we going to make decisions together? How are we going to share information?"
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Dr Ryan said that during the Covid pandemic, people did not have the right information, which led to confusion regarding travel and getting vaccines to the right place, adding that "there were people dying that shouldn't have died".
He also said that it did not surprise him that there has not been an inquiry into the way Covid was handled in Ireland, but that looking at it from the outside, he said he thinks Ireland did "pretty well" in the pandemic response.
"Yes, it would be good to look at how that response went and I'm sure there were issues around testing, surveillance and lockdowns that probably could be improved next time.
"But a considered review led by science, led by public health I think could get some answers that we need for the future, but political reviews really in my mind don't get you anywhere."
Separately, Mr Varadkar said that the draft terms of reference for an Irish Covid-19 inquiry are ready.
He said that the Government wants to consult with opposition parties on those terms of reference before they are brought to Cabinet, adding that it will be 2024 before the inquiry gets up and running.
Additional reporting Dyane Connor
