Amman, July 22 (Petra) – French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Tuesday called for allowing “a free and independent press” to access Gaza in order to document conditions on the ground, as the United Nations and international organizations continue to warn of an imminent famine in the besieged Palestinian enclave amid Israel’s ongoing war and blockade.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Barrot made the comments during an interview with France Inter radio while on an official visit to Ukraine. “We hope to be able to evacuate some journalists in the coming weeks,” he said, referencing a recent statement by the journalists’ union that described the situation of several Palestinian reporters working with AFP as “unsustainable.”

Barrot emphasized that Paris is “devoting considerable efforts” to this issue and reiterated the call for unrestricted press access to Gaza to ensure accurate and independent coverage of the humanitarian crisis.

The United Nations and several aid groups have been sounding the alarm for weeks about the risk of famine in Gaza, citing a near-total blockade and the entry of only minimal humanitarian assistance far from sufficient to meet the needs of over two million residents.

//Petra// AF
22/07/2025 21:14:28