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Tuesday, July 22, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
French FM urges Israel to allow foreign press free access to Gaza to ‘bear witness’
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France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 16, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/AFP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot urges Israel to allow foreign press into the Gaza Strip, as warnings of famine mount after 21 months of war, including among journalists on the ground.
“I ask that the free and independent press be allowed to access Gaza to show what is happening there and to bear witness,” he tells France Inter radio in an interview from eastern Ukraine.
Israel has imposed a near-total ban on foreign press entering Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, citing “extreme security concerns” for those who would enter, unless on escorted visits arranged by the IDF.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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