France welcomed two injured Palestinian children on Thursday, December 28, who were treated in pediatric hospital wards, according to a press release from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Paris is planning “a new operation to welcome injured or seriously ill Palestinian children from next week,” says the Quai d’Orsay, “in accordance with the commitments of the President of the Republic,” Emmanuel Macron.
“France is extremely concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza and continues to mobilize to come to the aid of the civilian population,” recalls the ministry, reiterating its “call for the establishment of a humanitarian truce, which must be able to lead to a lasting ceasefire, to allow the passage of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of the wounded.”
The war sparked by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel shows no sign of letting up despite heavy civilian casualties and international calls for a ceasefire. In Israel, this attack left around 1,140 dead, most of them civilians, according to a count by Agence France-Presse based on the latest official Israeli figures.
In retaliation, the Israeli army launched a ground offensive on October 27. A total of 21,320 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged since the start of Israeli military operations, according to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, administered by Hamas.
