France urges Israel to stop “without delay” its military operation in Rafah that threatens to create a “catastrophic situation” for the population of the Gaza Strip, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) reported last night in a statement published in X.
“We urge the Israeli authorities to stop this military operation without delay and to return to the path of negotiations, the only possible path to achieve the immediate release of the hostages and obtain a lasting ceasefire,” the French organization indicated on the situation in Rafah.
“An operation of this type threatens to cause a catastrophic situation for the civilian populations of Gaza, which have already been displaced on multiple occasions,” continues the statement from French diplomacy.
To “defeat” Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers necessary an operation in Rafah, where, according to him, the last battalions of the Islamist movement have taken refuge, but where 1.4 million Palestinians also live, the majority displaced by violence.
Defying international warnings, the Israeli military has been carrying out raids in eastern Rafah since Tuesday and has taken control of the border crossing with Egypt, blocking a key entrance for humanitarian aid convoys.
The army declared on Friday that it continues to carry out its “precision counterterrorism operation” in certain sectors of eastern Rafah and that it has “eliminated terrorist cells.”
The United States “views with concern” the military operation in Rafah, but does not consider it “significant,” a White House spokesman, John Kirby, said on Friday.
“France urges Israel to immediately reopen the Rafah crossing point towards Egypt, which is essential both for the access of humanitarian aid to the civilian population and to allow the most vulnerable people to leave the Gaza Strip,” the statement said. French diplomacy overnight.
