French FM Calls for Foreign Press Access to Gaza

By Staff, Agencies

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot urged "Israel" on Tuesday to permit international journalists access to the blockaded Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where dire famine alerts have been issued following 21 months of ongoing war.

"I ask that the free and independent press be allowed to access Gaza to show what is happening there and to bear witness," he said in an interview for France Inter Radio from eastern Ukraine.

He spoke following an urgent appeal from AFP, which warned that Palestinian freelancers working with them in Gaza were in grave danger and demanded "Israel" allow the journalists and their families to exit the occupied territory.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called for an immediate "cessation of hostilities" following "Israel's" expansion of military operations into Deir el-Balah.

He argued there was no remaining rationale for continued military actions in Gaza that would only worsen the already disastrous humanitarian crisis and lead to further mass displacements, which France vehemently condemns.

When asked whether France would assist in evacuating the journalists, Barrot stated that France was "addressing the issue," adding, "We hope to be able to evacuate some collaborators of journalists in the coming weeks," without concluding the thought until the very end.