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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)
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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.

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UN Migration Agency Head: Interim Syria Leaders Recognize Challenges Ahead

Two men wait to pass through the checkpoint on the way to Daraa, Syria, 17 December 2024. EPA/ANTONIO PEDRO SANTOS
Two men wait to pass through the checkpoint on the way to Daraa, Syria, 17 December 2024. EPA/ANTONIO PEDRO SANTOS
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UN Migration Agency Head: Interim Syria Leaders Recognize Challenges Ahead

Two men wait to pass through the checkpoint on the way to Daraa, Syria, 17 December 2024. EPA/ANTONIO PEDRO SANTOS
Two men wait to pass through the checkpoint on the way to Daraa, Syria, 17 December 2024. EPA/ANTONIO PEDRO SANTOS

The head of the UN migration agency said she was reassured by commitments she heard from Syria’s new caretaker government in meetings in Damascus, as the country seeks to rebuild after more than a half-century of rule under the Assad family.

Amy Pope, director-general of the International Organization for Migration, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that Syria’s new leaders “recognize the job they have ahead of them is enormous and that they need the support of the international community.”

IOM estimates about 100,000 people — many looking to return to their former homes — have entered Syria from neighboring countries since Dec. 8, the day former President Bashar Assad fled the country as opposition fighters swarmed into the capital.

“We are also seeing about 85,000 people come out” into Lebanon through established border crossing points, she said. “It’s a rough figure: There’s certainly people who cross informally and so they’re not counted.”

Most of those found to be leaving are Shiites, she said.

“There’s no question to me that at this moment in time, they are looking for ways to make this work, to be more inclusive, to build partnerships across the international community, to build partnerships with other governments,” Pope said of the caretaker government. “It’s just going to be a question of whether they can deliver.”

IOM said Pope was one of the first heads of a UN agency to visit Syria since Assad’s ouster, and she met with unspecified members of the caretaker government on Tuesday, as well as UN officials and advocacy groups.

She reaffirmed the IOM's commitment to Syria. The organization has been providing assistance to people in the country since 2014 and is seeking $30 million in urgent aid funding for the next four months to try to help nearly 685,000 people in the northwest of the country.