54 tons of humanitarian aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip will be rushed from France to Egypt on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry announced Thursday (October 26th). The special aircraft, which will depart from Paris, has been made available by the CMA CGM Foundation.
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Emergency ventilators, solar lamps, medicines...
In a press release, the Quai d'Orsay then detailed the equipment collected: emergency medical kits to treat up to 500 seriously injured people, 18 emergency ventilators, 1000,336 solar lamps, a dozen generators, 28 tents that can each accommodate a family, 70 tons of food supplements, and 000,<> drinking water tablets.
Many of these pieces of equipment have been provided by humanitarian associations, and the plane will also carry a donation from the Tulipe Foundation and the NGO Première Urgence internationale: 58 boxes of medicines, each of which will be able to take care of 500 patients. All equipment will be donated to the Egyptian Red Crescent.
"It lacks everything," insists Catherine Colonna
The announcement was later confirmed by Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who was invited to speak to RTL on Friday morning. She recalled the importance of respect for international rules, explaining that, while "Israel, like any State, has the right to defend itself", it must nevertheless do so "in accordance with international law, and in particular international humanitarian law", in order to "protect civilian populations as much as possible".
The minister then insisted on the distinction between "targeted operations" and "indiscriminate operations that would affect too many civilian populations". He added: "The bombing is causing too many civilian casualties."
Asked about the fate of French nationals, Catherine Colonna mentioned the 9 French still missing, some probably held hostage, before specifying that France was also following the "170 people" French living in Gaza closely.
In Gaza, "Idon't care about everything," the minister lamented. "No water, no electricity, a few solar chargers for phones, no medicines, no blankets, the nights are getting cold...", which is why "it is now essential to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza as quickly as possible, in a sustainable way, and in much larger volumes", according to Catherine Colonna. "The conditions for the entry of aid must be relaxed," the minister insisted, even if for the time being "pauses" and "truces" remain the priority, while a ceasefire is a longer-term perspective.
The helicopter carrier "Tonnerre" is expected to arrive by the end of the week
In addition to the 54 tonnes of humanitarian equipment, the "Tonnerre", a French amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA) with medical capabilities, has been sailing to Cyprus since Wednesday, in accordance with Emmanuel Macron's announcement in Cairo.
In Gaza, the "complete siege" imposed on the 362 km² Palestinian strip of land is preventing infrastructure, including hospitals, from accessing electricity. Israel's maritime siege currently prevents any ships from entering Gaza directly.
Since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas, humanitarian assistance to the people of the Gaza Strip has been hampered. Only 74 trucks were able to enter the area attacked by Israel from Egypt, according to a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Thursday. Before the crisis, 500 trucks a day crossed the border between Israel and Gaza to meet the landlocked territory's water, electricity and supply needs.