France Offers Help for Safer Gaza Aid Distribution as Trump Urges for Ceasefire
France has offered help to ensure the safety of aid distribution in Gaza amid growing international criticism over the civilian death toll near the US and Israeli-backed aid centers.
Meanwhile, prospects for reaching a ceasefire have improved in recent days as the US President, Donald Trump, urged Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire deal to end the devastating war in Gaza. French Offer
The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, expressed France's readiness to help in the aid distribution process in Gaza to ensure the safety of civilians, reported AFP. 'France stands ready, Europe as well, to contribute to the safety of food distribution' in the Gaza Strip, he said on Saturday.
The civilian death toll near aid distribution sites in Gaza has increased over the past weeks, sparking global outrage. In the light of this, Barrot voiced Paris' anger over the situation in Gaza and the '500 people who have lost their life in food distribution' in the enclave in recent weeks.
He also said that France's initiative would address Israel's concerns that groups like Hamas were stealing and taking control of aid. Targeting Civilians in Gaza
In recent weeks, the Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire at Gazans heading to aid distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), killing hundreds of Palestinians. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, the Israeli forces have killed over 500 Palestinians and injured more than 4,000 seeking food over the past month.
The Israeli military claimed it had fired shots at people who did not adhere to designated access routes. However, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that military commanders had ordered soldiers to fire at Palestinians approaching aid distribution sites in Gaza.
In response, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lashed out at Haaretz report, calling it 'blood libel,' saying that 'these are malicious falsehoods designed to defame the (Israeli military).' Global Outcry
The rising civilian deaths in Gaza have put the GHF operations under heavy criticism from the UN and other humanitarian groups, who refused to cooperate with it. On Friday, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid group denounced the GHF mechanism in Gaza, saying it 'must be dismantled.'
'This system is a slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid, and it must be immediately dismantled. Aid must not be controlled by a warring party to further its military objectives. Israeli authorities and their allies must lift the siege on food, fuel, medical, and humanitarian supplies and to revert to the pre-existing principled humanitarian system that was coordinated by the United Nations,' it said.
Similarly, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, described the situation in Gaza as the most severe since the outbreak of the war. 'The search for food must never be a death sentence,' he said on Friday. He reiterated his call for three key demands to end the crisis: an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and full, unimpeded humanitarian access.
Furthermore, a group of 15 international human rights organizations called on the GHF and affiliated contractors to halt their operations in Gaza or face legal consequences. Gaza Ceasefire Push
The US President, Donald Trump, has urged for a ceasefire in Gaza. On Sunday, he posted on Truth Social: 'MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!'
Trump also raised hopes of an imminent ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel over the past week. On Friday, he said that the agreement could be reached within the next week. 'We're working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of,' he told reporters, according to the Associated Press (AP).
In this context, an informed official told the AP that Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, will travel to Washington next week to discuss Gaza ceasefire, Iran and other issues.
Moreover, Trump expressed optimism regarding ceasefire talks on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters ahead of the NATO Summit in The Hague, Trump said: 'I think great progress is being made on Gaza,' adding that his Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, told him that 'Gaza is very close.'
Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement in January 2025, during which Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and 8 bodies in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. However, negotiations over the next phases of the agreement stalled and Israel resumed its war on Gaza on March 18, 2025.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, the war has claimed the lives of more than 56,000 Palestinians and injured over 133,000. Meanwhile, the death toll since Israel resumed fighting in March has exceeded 6,000 Palestinians.
Short link :
Post Views: 61
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
19 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
CIA chief told lawmakers Iran nuclear program set back years: Official
CIA Director John Ratcliffe told skeptical US lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran's lone metal conversion facility and, in the process, delivered a monumental setback to Tehran's nuclear program that would take years to overcome, a US official said Sunday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence, said Ratcliffe laid out the importance of the strikes on the metal conversion facility during a classified hearing for US lawmakers last week. Details about the private briefings surfaced as President Donald Trump and his administration keep pushing back on questions from Democratic lawmakers and others about how far Iran was set back by the strikes before last Tuesday's ceasefire with Israel took hold. 'It was obliterating like nobody's ever seen before,' Trump said in an interview on Fox News Channel's 'Sunday Morning Futures.' 'And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time.' Ratcliffe also told lawmakers that the intelligence community assessed the vast majority of Iran's amassed enriched uranium likely remains buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordow, two of the three key nuclear facilities targeted by US strikes. But even if the uranium remains intact, the loss of its metal conversion facility effectively has taken away Tehran's ability to build a bomb for years to come, the official said. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Sunday on CBS' 'Face the Nation' that the three Iranian sites with 'capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree.' But, he added, 'some is still standing' and that because capabilities remain, 'if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.' He said assessing the full damage comes down to Iran allowing in inspectors. 'Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared, and there is nothing there,' Grossi said. Trump has insisted from just hours after three key targets were struck by US bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles that Iran's nuclear program was 'obliterated.' His defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said they were 'destroyed.' A preliminary report issued by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, meanwhile, said the strikes did significant damage to the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not totally destroy the facilities. As a result of Israeli and US strikes, Grossi says that 'it is clear that there has been severe damage, but it's not total damage.' Israel claims it has set back Iran's nuclear program by 'many years.' The metal conversion facility that Ratcliffe said was destroyed was located at the Isfahan nuclear facility. The process of transforming enriched uranium gas into dense metal, or metallization, is a key step in building the explosive core of a bomb. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in comments at the NATO summit last week also suggested that it was likely the US strikes had destroyed the metal conversion facility. 'You can't do a nuclear weapon without a conversion facility,' Rubio said. 'We can't even find where it is, where it used to be on the map. You can't even find where it used to be because the whole thing is just blackened out. It's gone. It's wiped out.' The CIA director also stressed to lawmakers during the congressional briefing that Iran's air defense was shattered during the 12-day assault. As a result, any attempt by Iran to rebuild its nuclear program could now easily be thwarted by Israeli strikes that Iran currently has little wherewithal to defend against, the official said. Ratcliffe's briefing to lawmakers on the US findings appeared to mesh with some of Israeli officials' battle damage assessments. Israeli officials have determined that Iran's ability to enrich uranium to a weapons-grade level was neutralized for a prolonged period, according to a senior Israeli military official who was not authorized to talk publicly about the matter. Tehran's nuclear program also was significantly damaged by the strikes killing key scientists, damage to Iran's missile production industry and the battering of Iran's aerial defense system, according to the Israeli's assessment. Grossi, and some Democrats, note that Iran still has the know-how. 'You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have,' Grossi said, emphasizing the need to come to a diplomatic deal on the country's nuclear program.
Asharq Al-Awsat
32 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Says US Not Offering Iran 'Anything', Not Speaking to Tehran
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was not speaking to Iran and was not offering the country "anything", and he reiterated his assertion that the United States had "totally OBLITERATED" Tehran's nuclear facilities. Trump on Friday dismissed media reports that said his administration had discussed possibly helping Iran access as much as $30 billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Pakistan demands world stop Israel from its ‘murderous course,' reiterates support for Palestinian state
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday urged the international community to mobilize and stop Israel from its 'murderous course' and military operations in Gaza, reiterating Islamabad's firm support for an independent Palestinian state. After claiming victory in a 12-day war against Iran that ended with a ceasefire last Tuesday, the Israeli military said it would refocus on its offensive in Gaza, where Hamas still holds Israeli hostages. Israel's retaliatory military campaign against Hamas has killed at least 56,412 people in Gaza since October 2023. Most of the dead are civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable. 'The international community must mobilize to stop Israel from its murderous course and persuade it to pursue a path of reason,' Dar said during his speech at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad. 'Palestinians must be granted their inalienable right to self-determination,' he added. He condemned Israel's 'wanton killing of women and children,' blaming the Jewish state for using starvation as 'an instrument of war' in the densely populated Gaza territory, targeting humanitarian workers and destroying homes, schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure there. Dar, who also serves as Pakistan's foreign minister, said Islamabad reiterates its support for the establishment of a viable and independent Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. The Pakistani deputy premier condemned Israel and the United States for attacking key Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this month, saying they violated the United Nations Charter, international law and put regional peace in danger. He welcomed the Iran-Israel ceasefire announcement, urging all parties to resolve their disputes peacefully through dialogue and diplomacy.
