Nov 9, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
France
hosted a conference on Thursday on humanitarian aid for Gaza calling for a
"humanitarian pause" so countries can "work towards a
ceasefire", as the Palestinian territory remained under bombardment by
Israel following Hamas' October attack.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, November 9, opened a conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza by calling for the "preparation of a ceasefire", echoed by other delegates looking to support the Palestinian territory under bombardment by Israel since the October 7 attack by Hamas.
"In the immediate term, we need to work on protecting civilians. To do
that, we need a humanitarian pause very quickly and we must work towards a
ceasefire," Macron told delegates in Paris.
In Paris, delegates hope to reach a shared evaluation of the situation on
the ground and to mobilize the international community to lend support –
although no joint declaration is planned at the end of the conference. France's
foreign ministry said there would be sections on donations of goods such as
food, fuel and medical supplies, financial support and humanitarian access.
The UN estimates that $1.2 billion in aid will be needed for the
populations of Gaza and the West Bank from now until the end of the year.
Macron said Paris would increase its financial support from €20 million to €100
million. But any promises of aid risk ringing hollow while supplies are being
held up at the Gazan border.
Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said that "what the Israeli
government is doing far exceeds the right to self-defense," accusing the
state of "violations of international humanitarian law."
"How many Palestinians must die for this war to stop? Is it enough to
kill six children and four women every hour?" Palestinian Authority Prime
Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh asked delegates, urging them to "end the double
standard" he said existed between Palestinian and Israeli casualties.
'A few trucks each day'
"We're going to ask that aid enter Gaza because for now it's just a
few trucks each day," Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations'
Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, told broadcaster France Inter early on
Thursday. He added that $100 million was needed just to pay salaries to UNRWA's
30,000 employees. The world body has "never registered so many deaths in
such a short time in a conflict" among its staff, he said.
Thursday's aid conference has been put together in a hurry on the sidelines
of the annual Paris Peace Forum on November 10-11. It has brought together
government representatives from many European countries, Egypt and the
Palestinian Authority and a slew of aid groups, but no heads of government from
the Arab world. Israel has stayed away from the talks on aid for civilians in
the enclave of 2.4 million people, where the Hamas-run health ministry says
Israel's military campaign has killed more than 10,500 people, many of them
children.
Hamas militants stormed across the border from Gaza into Israel on October
7, killing more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and taking some 240
hostages, Israeli officials say. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel retaliated
with a massive, relentless bombardment and ground invasion. Tens of thousands
of civilians have fled towards the south of the Gaza Strip.
But Moshe Tetro, an Israeli military officer handling civil affairs in
Gaza, said on Thursday that although "the civil situation in the Gaza
Strip is not an easy one", the state sees "no humanitarian
crisis." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday reiterated
that "there will be no ceasefire without the release of our
hostages," saying he wanted to "put to rest... false rumors."
"Israel has the right to defend itself and the duty to protect its own people," Macron said.
But the government "also has a clear
responsibility... to respect the law and protect civilians," he added,
warning that the humanitarian situation "is worsening more and more each
day".
International concern over the fate of Gaza's civilians, most of whom
cannot flee the sealed-off territory, has strengthened calls for humanitarian
"pauses" or a full ceasefire. Both European and US leaders are
"having difficulty convincing [Israel] that there should be humanitarian
pauses as soon as possible," European Council head Michel told broadcaster
France 2 early on Thursday. "Israel has the right to defend itself, and
this must be in line with the rules of international law," he added.
The local,Le Monde,AFP,