Monday, May 06, 2024

France warns that forcing civilians from Rafah may be a war crime

2024/05/06
Palestinians inspect damaged houses after Israeli warplanes bombed a home for the Al-Shaer family, leading to widespread destruction in the Al-Salam neighbourhood, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
 Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

The French Foreign Ministry has emphasized its "firm opposition" to Israeli plans to launch a military ground offensive against the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

"France also recalls that the forced displacement of a civilian population constitutes a war crime under international law," the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The French government demanded that the Palestinian militant group Hamas immediately release all hostages, and that parties to the conflict agree to a permanent ceasefire that protects the needs of the civilian population.

French President Emmanuel Macron had already made a similar statement on Sunday.

Israel's military began evacuating Rafah on Monday and demanded that the inhabitants of the eastern part of the city to move to the al-Mawasi camp on the Mediterranean.

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