Welcome
Minister of State Lindner prior to his departure for the international humanitarian conference for Gaza’s civilian population in Paris
The French Government is hosting an international humanitarian conference for the civilian population in Gaza on 9 November 2023 in Paris. Minister of State Tobias Lindner is attending on behalf of the German Government. He is accompanied by the Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues, Ambassador Deike Potzel.
Prior to his departure, Minister of State Lindner gave the following statement:
The conference in Paris sends an important message at this difficult time. Representatives from around the world are joining forces to try and ensure that international assistance, food, water and medical care reach the people in Gaza swiftly and without any obstructions. The German Government stands in unwavering solidarity with Israel, which has the right to defend itself against Hamas’ terror within the scope of international law. As it does so, it is clear that the task is to fight Hamas, not the civilian population in Gaza.
Background:
Following the brutal attack by Hamas on the State of Israel and its people on 7 October, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is disastrous. The supply of basic provisions and services for the civilian population has collapsed and hundreds of thousands of people there, including many children, are lacking the bare essentials.
The aim of the conference in Paris is for the international community to develop joint responses in order to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the civilian population in Gaza. The focus will be on protecting the civilian population and humanitarian workers in accordance with international humanitarian law as well as on better humanitarian access, support for international organisations, and the coordination of humanitarian assistance in the fields of health, water, energy and food security.
In recent weeks, Germany has increased its humanitarian assistance for the people in the Palestinian territories to a total of 123 million euro.