France urges Israel to ensure safety of Gaza-bound flotilla participants

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday urged Israeli authorities to ensure the safety of French nationals taking part in the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, as the Israeli navy began intercepting the ships.

"France calls on the Israeli authorities to ensure the safety of the participants, to guarantee their right to consular protection, and to allow their return to France as soon as possible," Barrot wrote on US social media platform X.

Barrot said that before their departure, participants had been reminded that travel to the area was strongly discouraged, adding that France maintained regular contact with Israeli authorities to ensure any possible boarding operation would take place under the “best possible security conditions."

He said teams at the French Consulate General in Tel Aviv were in touch with French nationals on board the flotilla and stood ready to provide consular assistance.

France's "immediate priority" in the region remains achieving a cease-fire, securing the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and ensuring large-scale delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to Barrot.

"France encourages flotilla participants to hand over the humanitarian aid they are carrying to humanitarian organizations present in Gaza so that it can be delivered safely," he added.

The flotilla, loaded mainly with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, set sail at the end of August and was expected to reach Gaza’s coast on Thursday morning under normal circumstances.

This marked the first time in years that more than 50 ships have sailed together toward Gaza, carrying 532 civilian supporters from over 45 countries to the enclave of 2.4 million Palestinians that has been under Israeli blockade for roughly 18 years.

Israel tightened the siege further on March 2 by closing all border crossings and blocking food, medicine, and aid, pushing Gaza into famine despite aid trucks piling up at its borders.

The Israeli army has killed over 66,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.