President Michael D Higgins has said the European Union has suffered reputational damage through its "lethargic" response to the daily horror in Gaza.
He said too many European leaders "have stayed silent", and those who have begun to speak up are not using "appropriate" language.
He cited a set of measures announced by the EU on 15 July that would have allowed humanitarian relief into the Palestinian enclave and asked "how many have died" since then.
"In reacting to the horror that is a daily occurrence in Gaza, and now threatening the West Bank, some leaders seem unable to use an appropriate language to express what is taking place - be it the starvation of hostages held in Gaza or the condemning of young children to a slow death by malnutrition," he said.
The President said he agrees with those leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, who he said are now acknowledging the reputational damage to the European Union.
"Europe will find it very difficult to repair the damage that has been done by a lethargic response that has tolerated impunity.
"For example, on 15th July a set of measures were announced as having been agreed that would allow humanitarian relief. How many have died since 15th July? How many children have been put into an irrecoverable place?
"As somebody who has lived by language all my life, it saddens me to have to say that even an appropriate language has also become a victim of this conflict," he said.
President Higgins also lamented the killing of more than 200 journalists in Gaza, "whose words provide immediate reports of the devastation".
Vigil held in Dublin for journalists killed in Gaza
In Dublin this evening, the names of the journalists killed in Gaza by the Israel Defence Forces, over the past two years, were read out at a vigil on O'Connell St.
The event was organised by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the aftermath of yesterday's double strike on Nasser Hospital in which another five journalists were killed and more than a dozen first responders.
The journalists have been named as Mariam Abu Dagga, Mohammad Salama, Moaz Abu Taha, Ahmed Abu Aziz and Hussam Al-Masri.
It also follows the killing of another five journalists working with Al Jazeera outside al-Shifa hospital on 10 August.
Journalists and photographers from Ireland's main media outlets attended this evening's event.
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A minute's silence was then held.
The assistant general secretary of the NUJ Seamus Dooley said journalists were being killed by the IDF because they were recording what was happening in Gaza.
He said: "We demand an end to the killing. We demand a ceasefire."
The assembled crowd shouted: "Israel: Stop killing journalists."
Additional reporting by Paul Cunningham
Accreditation: PA
