France voices opposition to Israeli invasion of Rafah
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Jordan, France, and Egypt discuss the Gaza genocide and famine, an immediate ceasefire, and the situation in Lebanon.
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French Foreign Minister, Stephane Sejourne, right, shakes hands with his counterparts, Egyptian Sameh Shoukry, center, and Jordanian Ayman Safadi, left, after their press conference in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 30, 2024. (AP)
Amid the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon, and confrontations between "Israel" and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, Hezbollah, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné warned against a large-scale conflict that would "lead to heavy losses".
Séjourné underlined during a joint conference with Egyptian and Jordanian Foreign Ministers, Sameh Shoukry and Ayman Safadi that France had taken the initiative to "put forward proposals to resolve the crisis between Israel and Lebanon," the Lebanese National News Agency reported.
Regarding the Israeli genocide in Gaza, Séjourné stated that an immediate ceasefire must be established, with the collaboration of the participating Jordanian and Egyptian ministers. The trio also explicitly opposed an Israeli invasion of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians are located.
"We stressed our rejection of the displacement of Palestinians from their land... and discussed the danger of a military operation in densely populated Rafah," Shoukry added, after echoing the call for an immediate ceasefire.
On his part, Safadi urged the international community to "put an end to the Israeli madness", and called out "Israel's" weaponization of starvation as a war tactic and the prevention of aid entries into the Gaza Strip. Regarding the latter, Safadi stated that the deliberate blockage of humanitarian aid into Gaza by "Israel" was expediting the famine.
Read more: Gaza genocide news disappearing gradually from French media
Over a million people in Gaza facing famine
"Israel" on Friday responded strongly to a recent UN-backed report that sounded the alarm over an impending famine in Gaza, accusing the assessment of inaccuracies and questionable sources.
The report, released last week, heightened international concern by highlighting that half of Gazans are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, with a potential famine looming in the territory's northern region.
The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs also warned on Thursday that "time is running out, and obstacles to accessing aid persist in the Gaza Strip."
The statement emphasized that "over 1.1 million people in Gaza are facing severe levels of food insecurity," asserting that "there is no alternative to delivering aid by land to save lives, particularly in northern Gaza."
Earlier, on Wednesday, Ismail al-Thawabteh, the Director General of the Government Media Office in Gaza, warned that the nightmare of famine in the northern Gaza Strip will continue if aid is not delivered on a sustainable basis.
1.1 million people in #Gaza are experiencing the worst level of food insecurity.
— World Food Programme (@WFP) March 26, 2024
WFP provides food packages, wheat flour, and specialized nutrition products to families, while supporting bakeries and over 70 community kitchens.
As #famine looms, we must be able to deliver more. pic.twitter.com/WkYUT1V3KD
