This plea comes on the tenth day of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, stressed the importance of opening crossing points, stating, "Those who want to leave Gaza must be able to do so." Notably, Egypt oversees the Rafah border crossing, which stands as the sole gateway in and out of Gaza not under Israeli control.

A U.S. official revealed on Saturday that Egypt and Israel had reached an agreement allowing American citizens to depart through Rafah, as reported by AFP. Nevertheless, on Monday, Egypt's top diplomat, Sameh Shoukry, informed reporters that the country had reiterated its request to Israeli authorities for the passage of humanitarian aid.

Shoukry underscored that there had been no progress, which is particularly concerning given the growing needs of the Palestinian people in Gaza. In a statement on Monday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that "there is currently no ceasefire and humanitarian aid in Gaza is not tied to the evacuation of foreign nationals."

As of Monday afternoon, the crossing remained closed, leaving humanitarian convoys stranded on one side of the border and Palestinians and foreigners seeking to exit on the other, according to AFP.

The United Nations has consistently raised alarms about the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel has imposed a comprehensive blockade, severely restricting access to essential supplies for the territory's 2.4 million inhabitants.

Since October 7, Israeli airstrikes, launched in response to a Hamas militant attack that claimed 1,400 lives in Israel, have resulted in the deaths of around 2,750 people in Gaza. The United Nations reports that one million people within Gaza have been displaced, prompting Colonna to stress the necessity of protecting civilians and fulfilling their basic needs.

With diplomatic initiatives yielding limited progress, Colonna announced on Monday that Paris "welcomes Egypt's initiative" to convene an international summit addressing the conflict. She believes such a summit could offer a political solution that takes into account Israel's security concerns and the Palestinian quest for statehood.