Israel/Palestinian Territories – Worsening of the situation in the Gaza Strip (23 July 2025)

France strongly condemns the expansion of the Israeli offensive to central Gaza, where evacuation orders have led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people in Deir el-Balah and are hampering the work of many UN agencies and international NGOs.

This latest operation is accelerating the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, marked by malnutrition and the risk of famine. This situation is the result of the blockade imposed by Israel. France condemns in the strongest possible terms the Israeli shooting of Palestinians in Gaza who are seeking to obtain humanitarian aid; according to the UN, they have killed more than a thousand people in the past two months.

France once again calls on Israel to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice as well as its obligations under international humanitarian law, and to immediately lift all restrictions on humanitarian aid to Gaza in order to enable its immediate, massive, unimpeded delivery.

France also asks the Israeli authorities to allow UN agencies to operate in Gaza and to stop pressuring their employees. We deplore the revocation of the visa of the Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Palestinian Territories. Lastly, in keeping with the Foreign Minister’s request, France calls for allowing members of the free and independent press to enter Gaza so that they can show and document what is happening there.