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From their homes in Paris, Palestinians Sarah, Saïd and Yasser* are anxiously following the dramatic situation in Gaza, where their relatives are caught up in the massive bombardment and dire humanitarian crisis triggered by the latest war between Israel and Hamas. They lament France’s ban on pro-Palestinian protests, which prevents them from rallying in public to support their loved ones and to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Like other Gazans, Sarah, Saïd and Yasser have become accustomed to worrying about their families in the Palestinian enclave, an impoverished and chronically overcrowded sliver of land that has endured multiple conflicts in recent years and has lived under an Israeli blockade since the militant group Hamas took control in 2007.
Their fears turned to anguish on October 7, when Hamas militants operating from the Gaza Strip slaughtered more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, and abducted hundreds more during a murderous rampage in southern Israel – setting the stage for an Israeli riposte they knew would be unforgiving.
Israel’s “Operation Iron Swords” has since flattened large parts of Gaza, killing at least 3,785 people and injuring more than 12,500, health authorities in the Hamas-run territory said on Thursday. More than 1 million people, roughly half of Gaza’s population, have fled their homes in the northern part of the enclave after Israel told them to evacuate ahead of an expected ground offensive aimed at crushing Hamas.
The plight of Gaza’s civilians – caught up in the relentless bombardment, driven from their homes, and deprived of power, food and clean water – has sparked fury across the Arab world and triggered protests in many Western cities.
In France, however, hardline Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin instructed police on October 12 to ban pro-Palestinian rallies, arguing that they were “susceptible…
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