The international community commits more than 1,000 million euros for humanitarian aid to Gaza in Paris

Emmanuel Macron tried on Thursday in Paris to mobilize dozens of representatives of countries and international organizations to send humanitarian aid to Gaza and press for a truce that would prepare for a future ceasefire. Participants pledged more than €1 billion, according to Elysee Palace sources. The U.N. had assessed the immediate needs at $000.1 billion by the end of the year. A portion of the sum that was announced had already been committed in recent weeks.

"Today the situation is serious and is deteriorating more and more every day," Macron said at the opening of the conference at the Elysee Palace. "A very rapid humanitarian pause and action for a ceasefire is necessary. The space must be created for humanitarian actors to act in Gaza."

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It was the first time Macron had publicly used the word "ceasefire," which has been the subject of semantic discussions in Western capitals since Israeli bombardment of Gaza began to intensify following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The statement coincides with the White House's announcement of daily four-hour pauses in Israel's military operations to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from the northern Gaza Strip to the south of the Palestinian enclave and access to humanitarian aid.

"Thousands of dead children cannot be collateral damage," Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said at the Elysee. "Removing millions of people from their homes and concentrating them in areas without adequate infrastructure is forced displacement. Severely limiting food, water and medicine is collective punishment," Lazzarini said.

Other initiatives proposed during the conference included Jordan's airdrop of medical supplies into Gaza and the opening of a maritime corridor with Cyprus.

Macron decided to convene the conference a few days ago, taking advantage of the celebration of the so-called Paris Peace Forum, an annual convocation to promote multilateralism. For the French president, it was a matter of accelerating the international response to the humanitarian needs in Gaza, where Israeli bombardments have already caused more than 10,000 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian enclave. It also sought to show French leadership at a time of difficulty in Europe to fine-tune the message and influence the conflict. Most delegations were ministerial or lower. Israel did not attend the meeting.

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