Last month 160 children died every day in Palestine: Senior French lawmaker

By Umit Donmez

PARIS (AA) - A prominent French parliamentarian decried how in December, 160 children died every day in the Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday, Anadolu asked Mathilde Panot, head of the France Unbowed group in the National Assembly, about the health situation in Gaza and the recent evacuation of one of the enclave's last hospitals following relentless bombing by Israeli armed forces.

Calling the situation in Gaza "horrific," Panot urged France to seize the opportunity of its current UN Security Council presidency to "advance the issue of an immediate and unconditional ceasefire" in Palestine. The Security Council helm rotates on a monthly basis.

The left-wing leader also called on France to "support the initiative taken by South Africa," which filed a complaint on Dec. 29 alleging genocide by Israel in Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN court responsible for settling disputes between states.

- Call for international action

In response to Anadolu's question, Panot highlighted the alarming humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

The French deputy quoted the testimony of a British Palestinian doctor mentioning how over 1,000 children in the region had to have one or even both legs amputated following Israeli bombings of Gaza civilians.

Panot emphasized a figure that "by itself strikes at our common humanity": 160 children lose their lives every day in Palestine, a number of child deaths due to conflict far exceeding that observed in the Syrian conflict (two per day) and Afghanistan (three per day), numbers which were "already horrific," she said.

On France holding the UN Security Council helm, she said, "France must absolutely use this role to advance the issue of the immediate and unconditional cease-fire,” stressing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot continue his actions with impunity.

Condemning the Israeli blockade on Gaza, she said international groups have warned “that more people are already dead or will die from epidemics, famine, or thirst in Gaza, than from bombs or even weapons."

Israel’s attacks on Lebanon are also illegal under international law, she added, and they pose the risk of igniting the conflict in the region.

- ‘Hands off Lebanon!’

On Monday, Jean-Luc Melenchon, former leader of the French Unbowed, called on French President Emmanuel Macron to get angry about possible "Netanyahu aggression on Lebanon."

On social media, Melenchon said signs of an Israeli attack against its northern neighbor "are multiplying."

"Hands off Lebanon! 700 French peacekeepers are threatened with assassination, like so many UN personnel in Gaza. Don't touch Lebanon! Macron must get angry!" he stressed. There are some 10,000 peacekeepers in Lebanon, and they say that since Oct. 7 Israeli gunfire has hit some of its patrols.

This month in Lebanon, Israel has killed a senior leader of Palestinian group Hamas as well as a Lebanese Hezbollah leader.

The Lebanese-Israeli border has been the scene of daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel since last Oct. 7. These daily clashes are the deadliest since the war between the two parties in 2006.

- Call to protest

Panot also called for popular mobilization "in France and elsewhere” to increase pressure on the international community in light of the urgent situation.

She also stressed the importance of a coordinated international response to prevent a worsening of the situation, reiterating that France's position at the UN Security Council helm could play a key role in resolving the conflict.

The Israeli army has been waging a devastating war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza since a surprise attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas.

At least 23,210 Palestinians have been killed and 59,176 others injured, most of them children and women, since the start of the conflict.

Israeli attacks have caused massive destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to the UN and Gaza authorities.