France called on Israel to immediately end its military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The statement was posted on the page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the social network X.
The French Foreign Ministry expressed regret over the operation, which “threatens to cause a catastrophic situation” for civilians in the enclave, who have already been displaced several times. Paris noted that in the Gaza Strip, civilians “have no safe places left.”
⠀
“We call on the Israeli authorities to immediately stop this military operation and re-enter the path of negotiations – the only one that can lead to the immediate release of the hostages and the achievement of a sustainable ceasefire,” a statement posted on the French Foreign Ministry’s page said.
⠀
The Foreign Ministry also called on Israel to reopen the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and also strongly condemned the attack by Israeli settlers on a Jordanian humanitarian aid convoy on May 7. In addition, Paris condemned the attack by the Palestinian Hamas movement on the Kerem Shalom checkpoint.
⠀
On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. After this, fighters from the Palestinian Hamas movement entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. According to authorities, about 1.2 thousand people died.
⠀
After this, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords in the Gaza Strip, which included air strikes on civilian targets. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the enclave: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the death toll from attacks on the enclave exceeded 34 thousand, and more than 78 thousand people were injured.
