France extends lifeline to seven wounded Palestinian children amid healthcare crisis

Seven wounded Palestinian children from the war-torn Gaza Strip arrived in France on Wednesday for medical treatment, the French foreign ministry said.

It is the second such evacuation to the European country after two other Palestinian children arrived on December 28.

The healthcare system has almost entirely collapsed in Gaza after more than three months of devastating Israeli bombardment and fighting in the besieged Palestinian territory.

“France remains extremely worried by the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where a lack of food, drinking water and medicine has for several weeks exposed the civilian population to a very serious health and food crisis,” the foreign ministry said.

“We must work immediately for a lasting ceasefire, which alone can put an end to the suffering of the civilian population of Gaza,” it added.

The war in Gaza erupted when Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, resulting in the death of about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, based on official figures.

At least 25,700 Palestinians, the majority civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip in Israeli bombardments and ground offensive since, according to the Hamas government running the territory.

The United Nations on Tuesday warned of a “looming threat of famine” in the territory.

France has treated 120 patients on a French helicopter carrier in the Mediterranean since November, a doctor onboard said at the weekend.

That’s a tiny fraction of the more than 63,700 people who have been wounded in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.