France sends helicopter carrier to provide medical aid to Gaza

The French President's office announced that it is preparing to send the helicopter carrier Dixmude to the eastern Mediterranean to provide medical assistance to the Gaza Strip.

The Dixmude will depart "early this week and arrive in Egypt in the coming days," President Emmanuel Macron's office said on November 19. Paris also plans to send flights carrying more than 10 tons of medical supplies to the conflict-torn Gaza Strip early in the week.

Helicopter carrier Dixmude in Jounieh Bay, Lebanon, 2012. Photo: Marine Nationale

"France is mobilizing all available means to contribute to the evacuation of wounded and sick children in need of urgent care from the Gaza Strip to its hospitals," the statement said.

President Macron later wrote on social network X, formerly Twitter, that 50 children could be taken to hospitals in France for treatment if this was "useful and necessary".

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, the force that controls the Gaza Strip, after the group launched a surprise attack on the country on October 7.

About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Hamas offensive early last month and about 240 were taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.

In Gaza, 13,000 people, mostly civilians, and more than 5,000 children, have been killed in the Israeli military response, according to figures from Hamas.

President Macron's office said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there had been "too much civilian loss" in Gaza.

The French leader also reminded Mr Netanyahu of the absolute need to distinguish between militants and civilians and the importance of reaching an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Mr Macron spoke on November 18 with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi about ongoing negotiations to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu was also in Qatar on the same day, the country leading reconciliation efforts between Israel and Hamas.

Vu Hoang (According to AFP )

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