French authorities have opened a criminal investigation into several French-Israeli citizens suspected of blocking humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, on allegations of complicity in genocide and incitement to genocide, officials said Friday.
The investigation, led by a unit of the French national anti-terror prosecutor’s office, follows a complaint filed in November by the French Jewish Union for Peace (UFJP) and a French-Palestinian advocacy group. The complaint accuses pro-Israel organizations—including Israel Forever and Tzav 9—of organizing, participating in, and inciting actions aimed at preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza.
According to the complaint, the actions included physically obstructing aid trucks at crossings controlled by the Israel Defense Forces. The probe centers on incidents that took place in January at the Nitzana crossing, on the Egypt-Israel border, and the Kerem Shalom crossing, between Israel and Gaza.
Attorneys representing the complainants, Dima Tahrawi and Marion Lepoige, told AFP that they welcomed the investigation.
“At that time, no one wanted to talk about genocide,” they said.
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Israel strongly rejects the use of the term “genocide” in relation to its military operations in Gaza. However, the term has recently been used by some human rights organizations, legal experts and a number of Israeli historians to describe the war. As international scrutiny of Israel’s actions in Gaza grows, calls for legal inquiries have intensified. No court has ruled that genocide has taken place.