French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, meets families of Hamas hostages in Israel on Monday, before meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and several members of the war cabinet to discuss the situation in Gaza and the risks of escalation in the region.
The discussions will focus “
on the situation in Gaza, on efforts to obtain the release of French hostages and missing persons, on the protection of civilian populations and the humanitarian support provided by France
” but also on efforts to avoid a “
regional escalation, notably in Lebanon and the Red Sea
", where Yemeni Houthi rebels are carrying out attacks against ships, the French minister's office said on Sunday.
This is the second visit by the French Minister of the Armed Forces to Israel since the start of the war triggered by the attack of the Palestinian terrorist movement Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7.
During this previous tour, Sébastien Lecornu visited, in addition to Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
He also later traveled to the Dixmude helicopter carrier moored in Egypt near Gaza and where Palestinian civilians are being treated, then to southern Lebanon where 700 French soldiers from UNIFIL, the UN mission which is deployed, are deployed. acts as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel.
The Dixmude helicopter carrier MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY / REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron recently called for “
resuming again and again negotiations for (the) release
” of Hamas hostages.
Around 250 people were kidnapped during the attack - including around a hundred released at the end of November - which left around 1,140 dead, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on the Israeli toll.
Three French people are still “
disappeared
”, probably hostages in the Palestinian territory.
In the Gaza Strip, the human toll exceeded 25,000 deaths according to Hamas, on the 107th day of war.