At the request of the French President and Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, medical cargo worth €1 million arrived in Cairo on Sunday 25 February, in the presence of the French Ambassador to Egypt and the relevant international affairs minister from the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population. Coordinated by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ Crisis and Support Centre in conjunction with the French Embassy in Cairo, the operation is part of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism and will be for the benefit of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population. Comprising eight tonnes of medical equipment put together with the Ministry of Labour, Health and Solidarity, this humanitarian delivery aims to address the needs expressed by the Egyptian authorities and help Egypt’s hospitals treat injured people evacuated from Gaza.
Since October 2023, France has played an especially active role in providing healthcare assistance to Gaza’s civilians, in close coordination with Egypt. Thanks to the deployment of the French ship Dixmude in the port of Arish, 1,000 patients have been taken in and 124 injured civilians who were evacuated from Gaza over two months are being cared for by a multidisciplinary civilian-military medical team. By means of 13 air and sea operations, France has also delivered to Egypt nearly 1,000 tonnes of humanitarian freight including medicines, nutritional supplements and tents, with the support of the Egyptian authorities and the Egyptian Red Crescent. France has also launched a health evacuation programme for injured Palestinian children which has, to date, enabled nine Palestinian children to be treated in French hospitals. To support the Egyptian health system, which is under great pressure from taking in injured people against the background of the humanitarian crises in Gaza and Sudan, France will step up its medical and hospital cooperation with Egypt.
In the face of the disastrous humanitarian situation in Gaza, France recalls the urgent need to reach a ceasefire agreement that finally guarantees the protection of all civilians and the massive entry of humanitarian aid.