PARIS: France has evacuated 42 people from the war-hit Gaza strip including French citizens and staff of the French cultural institute, the foreign ministry said on Monday.
“After a request from France, 42 people today left the Gaza Strip through the Rafa border crossing” into Egypt, said a ministry statement.
It said that more than 200 people have now left the territory after official French requests.
The development comes just days after a teacher who had worked with the French institute for 20 years in Gaza died due to a lack of medical treatment.
The foreign ministry said the evacuation was made with the help of French authorities at the highest level.
Evacuees handed over to French diplomatic staff in Egypt
The evacuees were handed over to French diplomatic staff in Egypt and would be repatriated to France.
“We remain ready to facilitate the departure of other people whose situation in Gaza France is following, in order to allow their evacuation to our country,” the ministry statement said.
France asked Israel to take solid measures to protec” civilians in Gaza and reiterated its call for an end to hostilities.
The ongoing Israeli bombardment in Gaza, which started on October 7, has resulted in a devastating toll, with Gaza’s health ministry reporting at least 28,340 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
The Israeli offensive has left 85 percent of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of clean water, food, and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
