PARIS, Tuesday, July 16, 2024 (WAFA) – France today expressed outrage over Israeli occupation strikes on an UNRWA-run school-turned shelter and al-Maghazi refugee camp on July 14 and 15, according to the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

“France is outraged by Israel’s strikes on July 14 and 15 on an UNRWA school and the Al-Maghazi refugee camp that shelters displaced people. The strikes of the last couple of days, which left nearly 100 dead, exacerbate the catastrophic civilian death toll in Gaza,” the Ministry stated in a press statement.

“France emphasizes the need for Israel to abide by international humanitarian law,” it added, while stressing that “Given the humanitarian emergency in Gaza, France reiterates its call for an immediate ceasefire.”

Israel has proceeded with its genocidal offensive on the war-torn Strip in complete disregard of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered Israel in a legally binding decision to halt its military offensive in Rafah, which may violate its obligations under the Genocide Convention.

Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, killing at least 38,713 Palestinians and injuring over 89,166 others.

Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

K.F.