French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has urged Israel to allow foreign media into Gaza on Tuesday.
In an interview with France Inter radio, he said, “I ask that the free and independent press be allowed to access Gaza to show what is happening there and to bear witness.”
His comments come after 28 countries, including the UK, Japan and a host of European nations issued a joint statement Monday saying the war in Gaza “must end now” — the latest sign of allies’ sharpening language as Israel’s isolation deepens.
“There is no military solution,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. “The next ceasefire must be the last ceasefire.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the statement, saying it was “disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas.” It accused Hamas of prolonging the war by refusing to accept an Israeli-backed proposal for a temporary ceasefire and hostage release.
“Hamas is the sole party responsible for the continuation of the war and the suffering on both sides,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein posted on X.
Israel’s blockade of Gaza has plunged the Strip into a severe malnutrition crisis, with children particularly vulnerable to starvation. At least 18 people, including three women and five children, were killed in Israeli strikes overnight and into Monday.
Since the war began, Israel has only permitted a handful of foreign journalists to enter Gaza, that too escorted by the Israeli Defence Forces. Meanwhile, Palestinian journalists who have been covering the conflict from Gaza for the past five months have done so under intense Israeli attacks that have cost many of them their lives.