With the exception of the Palestinian Prime Minister, none of the Arab heads of state or government will come to Paris on Thursday to participate in the humanitarian conference to support civilians in Gaza called for by France, and will meet for three hours at the Elysee Palace. While Israel, Iran, and Russia are absent, the United States will be represented by Assistant Minister of Civil Security Ezra Zea, while the Cypriot President and the heads of government of Greece, Ireland, and Luxembourg will be present, in addition to the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission.

The Elysee Palace stated, in its morning presentation of the conference, which will be chaired by President Emmanuel Macron, that the latter anticipated its holding by conducting a series of contacts that included the Israeli Prime Minister, the Egyptian President, and the Emir of Qatar, and that he would contact Benjamin Netanyahu again to inform him of the results that the conference would reach. However, it was clear during the French presidency’s presentation that there is a major paradox, as the conference will be held while the many calls around the world for humanitarian truces have, to date, clashed with categorical Israeli rejection, and no one is talking about a ceasefire. Hence, the difficulty that the conferees will face in terms of how to deliver aid.

It seemed clear that Paris wanted to keep the conference away from political aspects. In fact, the presidential source ruled out issuing a final statement or announcement on the grounds that this would plunge everyone into controversy over the use of one word instead of another. Agence France-Presse quoted another source as saying that France “does not want the conference to turn into a platform to condemn Israel.”

Paris wants to focus discussions on achieving three goals: The first is to assess the needs of the Gaza Strip based on reports by international agencies that estimated that humanitarian needs today reach $1.2 billion by the end of the current year. The second goal is to work to enhance the access of humanitarian aid to the Strip, specifically for the health, nutrition, water and energy sectors. 

The third is to “strengthen mobilization” for the benefit of civilians. Gaza by providing support to international agencies, organizations working in the sector and non-governmental organizations. The presidential source summarizes the purpose of the conference as reaching “quickly tangible results” in view of the prevailing humanitarian situation in the sector, which has been subjected for 31 days to air, ground and sea bombardments, with more than ten thousand dead and more than twice as many wounded, while destruction has reached an extent never known before. What Paris wants is for the meeting to provide an opportunity for each participating party to express what it wants to provide in this context, whether it is financial or in-kind assistance, equipment (for example, floating hospitals) or means of transporting aid (ships).

Perhaps the most important known proposal is the one presented by Cyprus to launch a humanitarian sea corridor to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, given that accumulating aid is one thing and delivering it to those in need is another. To date, aid passes by “dropper” through the Rafah crossing, and shipments are subject to Israeli scrutiny. Hence, the general goal of the conference is to mobilize financial resources and find ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, in addition to removing seriously injured people.

The Cypriot President, who is attending the meeting, will have the opportunity to present his country's project. Given the geographical proximity of Cyprus to the Gaza coast, adopting the sea corridor will allow doubling the aid sent to the Strip. However, there are a number of difficulties that must be overcome first, politically and logistically. In the first place, this proposal cannot be implemented unless Israel accepts it, which will not hesitate to impose its conditions, including monitoring what will enter and exit the Gaza Strip, similar to what happens at the Rafah crossing. 

The logistical difficulty concerns landing boats, as Gaza does not have a large, suitable port, which means the need to build a floating port. In any case, all these aspects show that the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza will not take place tomorrow or the day after. As for the wounded, Israel will undoubtedly impose a requirement to verify their identities, which will exacerbate the difficulties and require heavy administrative procedures.

In its presentation to the conference, Paris revealed President Macron’s determination to increase the value of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the presidential source confirmed that it is working at the national and European levels in order to be able to receive sick and wounded Palestinians on the ships that are supposed to dock off the Gaza coast. 

To date, Paris has sent a hospital ship called “La Tonnerre” and is working on preparing a second piece to join the first. Italy announced its readiness to send a hospital ship. Paris believes that “it is in the interest of everyone, including Israel,” to work to increase humanitarian aid. The presidential source said that the basis is to reach “practical” solutions, and to work to make the multiple initiatives in the context of providing humanitarian support implementable and to overcome the difficulties that Israel poses for their access. 

Therefore, Paris believes that there is a need to work with all parties, including, of course, Israel, which holds the key to whether or not aid arrives.

There is another goal that may lie behind the French call for the humanitarian conference, and its title is to restore some kind of balance to Paris’s positions on the Gaza war, which until recently was characterized by a kind of bias towards Israel, which seems to be raising controversy and astonishment in diplomatic circles, according to what media reports revealed. 

After Macron said in Israel that it has the right to legitimate self-defense, and after he considered that the war on “Hamas” must be “relentless” and for the purpose of “destroying” it, he considered last week that “the war on terrorism does not justify sacrificing civilians.” As for the truces, Paris, as Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said, “wants a humanitarian truce that could lead to a ceasefire.”