what should we expect from the humanitarian conference for Gaza organized in Paris?

One month after the Hamas attack on Israel and the start of Israeli bombings on Palestinians in Gaza which have already left thousands dead and injured, France is organizing an international humanitarian conference at the Élysée from 10 a.m. Thursday November 9. This meeting is intended to collect resources to help the population of the Gaza Strip, shelled by the Israeli army.

This initiative was launched by Emmanuel Macron during his tour on October 24 and 25 in the Middle East. NGOs have been invited, nearly 80 heads of state and heads of government from around the world have also been invited even if not all are making the trip. There is no Israeli representative at this conference, even if Emmanuel Macron spoke about it with Benjamin Netanyahu. They spoke several times this week and they will do so again after this conference. For its part, the Palestinian Authority will be represented by its Prime Minister. There will also be a ministerial delegation sent by Egypt.

The question of hostages will be raised in particular since there are still more than 200. This conference is therefore intended to come to the aid of the thousands of Palestinians, victims of the bombings and the Israeli blockade. “There are too many civilian losses today (…) and these are also imposed on Israel”, declared Anne-Claire Legendre, the spokesperson for the Quai d’Orsay. While supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, France therefore sees no contradiction in organizing this humanitarian conference.

France, which is calling for a humanitarian truce leading to a ceasefire, wants to mobilize partners and funding. The United Nations estimates that $1.2 billion in aid is needed for Gaza and the West Bank until the end of the year. The Élysée promises results “concrete, operational” on a humanitarian level, in particular on the emergency delivery of essential goods and medicines and in the longer term, on the opening of a maritime corridor or the mooring of floating hospitals.

France says it is still working on welcoming the wounded and sick while access to the Gaza Strip seems completely impossible. So far, the deployment of the helicopter carrier Thunder has not borne fruit at all since it can only accommodate, at most, four injured people at the same time. THE Diksmuide will also relay it in the coming days. For the Élysée, “this is the role that falls to France”. It is therefore a question of achieving all this while trying to avoid the risk of seeing this conference transform into a political condemnation of Israel by Arab countries.