The Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, will go aboard the Dixmude on 31 December to take stock of the damage caused by the war between Israel and Hamas on the civilian population.
Arriving at the Al-Arish dock in north-eastern Egypt on 27 November, the French helicopter carrier received wounded civilians from the Gaza Strip the next day.
Two operating theatres on board
France is "the first Western power to put means of care so close to the Gaza Strip," the ministry said, indicating that the Diksmuide hosts Belgian and Danish doctors. Most of the civilians treated are suffering from serious medical conditions, according to the cabinet. The ship's hospital structure includes two operating theatres, 40 beds, more than 80 caregivers, scanners and analysis laboratories, Lecornu said when the Dixmude arrived in Egypt.
The Israeli army is intensively shelling and conducting ground operations in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the unprecedented October 7 attack carried out in Israel by the Palestinian terror organization, which killed about 1140,250 people on the Jewish side, mostly civilians, and some 129 hostages, 20 of whom Israel says are still being held in Gaza. Israeli retaliatory military operations have killed more than 424,53 people, mostly women, teenagers and children, and wounded more than 000,<>, according to the Hamas government. These figures are difficult to verify.