French Foreign Minister Suggests Sanctions on Israel to Get Aid into Gaza  

A Palestinian child plays near a building destroyed by earlier Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on April 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
A Palestinian child plays near a building destroyed by earlier Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on April 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
TT

French Foreign Minister Suggests Sanctions on Israel to Get Aid into Gaza  

A Palestinian child plays near a building destroyed by earlier Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on April 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
A Palestinian child plays near a building destroyed by earlier Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on April 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)

France's foreign minister said on Tuesday that pressure, and possibly sanctions, must be imposed on Israel to open crossings to get humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

"There must be levers of influence and there are multiple levers, going up to sanctions to let humanitarian aid cross check points," Stephane Sejourne told RFI radio and France 24 television

"France was one of the first countries to propose European Union sanctions on Israeli settlers who are committing acts of violence in the West Bank. We will continue if needed to obtain the opening of humanitarian aid," he said.

Some 33,207 Palestinians have been killed in six months of conflict, Gaza's health ministry said on Monday. Most of the enclave's 2.3 million people are homeless and many at risk of famine.

Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel in a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the conflict, according to Israeli tallies.



Syria Defense Minister Rejects Kurdish Proposal to Remain Distinct Military Bloc

Fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army faction ride in a "technical" pickup truck at a position near the Tishrin Dam in the vicinity of Manbij, in the east of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on January 10, 2025 amidst ongoing battles with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
Fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army faction ride in a "technical" pickup truck at a position near the Tishrin Dam in the vicinity of Manbij, in the east of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on January 10, 2025 amidst ongoing battles with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
TT

Syria Defense Minister Rejects Kurdish Proposal to Remain Distinct Military Bloc

Fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army faction ride in a "technical" pickup truck at a position near the Tishrin Dam in the vicinity of Manbij, in the east of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on January 10, 2025 amidst ongoing battles with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
Fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army faction ride in a "technical" pickup truck at a position near the Tishrin Dam in the vicinity of Manbij, in the east of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on January 10, 2025 amidst ongoing battles with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)

Syria's new defense minister said on Sunday it would not be right for US-backed Kurdish fighters based in the country's northeast to retain their own bloc within the broader integrated Syrian armed forces.
Speaking to Reuters at the defense ministry in Damascus, Murhaf Abu Qasra said the head of the Kurdish fighters, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, was procrastinating in its handling of the complex issue.