PARIS (Reuters) – French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu told franceinfo that the Dixmude helicopter carrier was going to be sent off the coast of the Gaza Strip to be used as a “hospital boat”, he said. , a decision similar to that already concerning the Tonnerre helicopter carrier.
Speaking during a trip to Lebanon, Sébastien Lecornu indicated that France was holding discussions with Israel and Egypt on ways to provide medical aid to people affected by the bombings against the Gaza Strip.
A French military source said that the Tonnerre, which left Toulon at the end of October for the eastern Mediterranean, could only be used temporarily and in support of a larger land hospital. Le Tonnerre has around sixty beds and two operating theaters.
“The planning is being done,” said Sébastien Lecornu. “Dixmude could be equipped with a certain number of hospital beds. This is one of the solutions,” he added.
The minister stressed that the objective was to signal to “all the actors in this conflict that we cannot leave civilian populations exposed to danger and above all without a healthcare solution on the humanitarian level.”
“We must not think only about a boat or a medical cargo flight. We must think globally,” he said. (John Irish reporting, written by Jean Terzian)
©2023 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.