Kuwait city: France strongly condemned on Wednesday the expansion of the Israeli occupation forces' operations into central Gaza.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the French Foreign Ministry stated that this action has resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians and has disrupted the work of UN agencies and humanitarian organizations. The ministry emphasized that such escalation in the field exacerbates the humanitarian crisis within Gaza, with increasing rates of malnutrition and a looming risk of famine. This situation was described as a direct consequence of the blockade imposed by the Israeli occupation on Gaza.
The statement also highlighted France's condemnation of the "repeated shooting" incidents by Israeli occupation forces targeting Palestinian civilians who were trying to access humanitarian aid. It was noted that the UN has documented the deaths of more than 1,000 people in this context over the past two months. France urged the Israeli occupation forces to adhere to the precautionary measures issued by the International Court of Justice and to respect the rules of international humanitarian law, while simultaneously demanding the immediate lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Furthermore, France expressed regret over the Israeli occupation's decision to revoke the entry visa of the Director of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian Territories. The French Foreign Ministry called for allowing free and independent press access to Gaza in order to document events on the ground and provide the international public with information on the current humanitarian situation.