French humanitarian action in the Palestinian Territories

Overview of humanitarian needs

The entire population of Gaza, 2.1 million people, require humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip. According to the World Bank, almost the entire Gazan population now lives below the poverty line, compared with 64% prior to 7 October 2023. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, by 22 October 2024 almost 43,000 Palestinians had been killed, including over 13,000 children, as well as some 100,000 wounded and over 10,000 missing. Over 70,000 homes have been destroyed and 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced within the Gaza Strip. Some of them have been forced to relocate several times.

Many Gazans are believed to have died due to lack of appropriate medical care, hardship and appalling sanitary conditions in the Gaza Strip. Almost all Gazans are affected by food insecurity due to blocks on the delivery of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and the lost livelihoods of thousands of displaced persons. In September 2024, projections in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) showed that almost the entire Gaza Strip is classed as experiencing an emergency (phase 4) and that some areas are in danger of famine (phase 5).

Finally, the collapse of the health and education systems should also be highlighted, as over half of hospitals and 95% of schools have been destroyed or damaged and hundreds of health workers and teachers have been killed.

As winter draws near, the already catastrophic humanitarian situation is at risk of deteriorating even further, as heavy autumn rains and cold weather in the Gaza Strip generally coincide with increased levels of flooding and respiratory infections.

On 30 September 2024, France contributed €200 million to the humanitarian response for Palestinian civilian populations.

France supports an immediate and permanent ceasefire, which must enable the large-scale, unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid

France is demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and the prompt release of all hostages. It condemns the terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas and other terrorist groups on 7 October 2023. Along with its partners, it continues to work towards achieving peace and implementing the two-State solution. It will continue to work actively, including at the United Nations Security Council.

France is working to fund the response to the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian Territories

On 9 November 2023, President Emmanuel Macron convened States and the main humanitarian stakeholders, including the United Nations and NGOs at the first international humanitarian conference for Gaza’s civilian population. The conference aimed to provide a response from the international community to the needs of the Palestinian people and to unite international support. Of the €1 billion raised to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, France has so far contributed €100 million.

• For more information on this conference, see the closing address.

A second conference took place on 6 December 2023, in the presence of representatives from over 50 countries, international organizations and NGOs. It reported on progress in implementing the financial commitments made on 9 November and aimed to enhance cooperation between States, donors, United Nations agencies and NGOs.

In 2024, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs announced that France would contribute a further €100 million.

France supports the work of humanitarian NGOs

Before 7 October 2023, France had already been supporting local and international NGO activities in the Palestinian Territories.

Since then, it has significantly strengthened and diversified its portfolio of supported projects in the Gaza Strip in order to improve the Palestinians’ access to healthcare, shelter and drinking water, as well as sanitary conditions and their food and nutritional security. For example, it supports the work of French NGO Médecins du Monde to maintain high-quality primary healthcare by bolstering the Gazan health system. In the water-hygiene-sanitation sector, it is funding the renovation of water supply points and desalination plants being carried out by another French NGO, Solidarités International. With regard to French NGO Première Urgence Internationale, the work it was undertaking prior to 7 October 2023 has been adapted to meet the basic needs of the Gazan population in terms of food, shelter and non-food essentials (e.g. soap, buckets).

In the West Bank, where the economic and security situation has also deteriorated since October 2023, France continues to fund NGO projects to provide medical, psychological and material support to the Palestinian people. France also allocates some of its humanitarian budget to protection programmes.

These programmes help, for example, to document human rights violations and gender-based violence, to protect the civilian victims thereof and to provide them with safe, unrestricted access to the aid and services they require. In partnership with the European Union, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada (among others), France is financing a project to prevent violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, as part of a consortium led by the Norwegian Refugee Council.

France supports the work of the United Nations and international organizations

France supports the work of UN humanitarian agencies in Gaza, which remain the backbone of humanitarian support in Gaza, and of the UN’s Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza.

France supports UNRWA, the central agency for assisting Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and the surrounding region, and has contributed €95 million over two years (€57 million in 2023 and €38 million in 2024). It supports the World Food Programme (WFP) in its work to combat food insecurity and malnutrition in Gaza and has provided €22.5 million over the same period, as well as the ICRC for its work to protect health, contributing €5 million over the two years. This assistance has enabled the United Nations to provide an emergency response in the sectors of food, shelter, health and protection, particularly for women and children.

France is also providing direct help to Gazans who are wounded, ill or facing food insecurity

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, France has transported almost 1,200 tons of humanitarian assistance to the Gazan people, including medicines and medical equipment, food rations and nutritional supplements, by sea, land and air, via Egypt and Jordan.

These large-scale logistical operations were carried out in partnership with the French Ministry for the Armed Forces, the European Union, the CMA-CGM Foundation, the Airbus Foundation and several regional partners, and included:

• about 30 operations to airdrop and transport humanitarian freight, in cooperation with Jordan, in order to deliver food rations and flour, as well as to provide equipment for the Jordanian field hospital in Khan Younis (Gaza);
• an aircraft jointly operated and chartered by France and Qatar, transporting medical equipment, 10 equipped ambulances, food rations and family tents.

A European Humanitarian Air Bridge to Egypt and then Jordan was launched on 16 October 2023 and remains active. On 24 September 2024, 60 flights to Al-Arish and Amman were organized, transporting over 3,350 tons of humanitarian freight provided by humanitarian partners, stocks held by the EU and donations from Member States. France sent five of those flights.

In addition to the above-mentioned deliveries, France provided direct medical assistance to Gazans, in partnership with the Egyptian and Jordanian authorities. From 28 November 2023 to 27 January 2024, the Dixmude helicopter carrier was deployed off the coast of Al-Arish (Egypt), enabling more than 1,000 medical consultations and 120 surgical operations. A total of 22 reservist health professionals selected by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in coordination with the Ministry of Health, and 8 health and civil security professionals were deployed with teams from the Military Health Service. This healthcare operation was implemented in partnership with the Egyptian authorities and the Egyptian Red Crescent. It also received support from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Jordan, Canada, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Based on needs, hospital availability in France, ability to leave Gaza and the wishes of families, wounded and sick Gazan children were admitted to French hospitals for treatment.

Furthermore, France helped equip several partner relief organizations (e.g. Egyptian Red Crescent, Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization) which play an essential role in caring for the wounded and sick in the Palestinian Territories, in addition to local healthcare services.

Updated: November 2024