>> welcome to france 24. israel is reportedly preparing to strike overnight the tunnels under the gaza strip. confrontation in the middle east and gaza and the west bank. we have the latest. a new momentum for africa. emmanuel macron says rich nations should reallocate $100 billion in imf special reserves

to african states to help the continent. back in blue, 29 goals the season. this is life in paris. ♪ 6 >> thank you for being with us. we start with the middle east. palestinian listens resumed crossfire. the u.n. sent a small fuel convoy to the enclave. 52,000 people are now displaced. more than 200 palestinians have 10 israelis.so far.

israel said they are pressing on with an offensive to destroy the factions of hamad -- hamas. france is prominent. demonstrators in the west bank ran for recovery as gus ran for cover. >> this was the moment gunfire disrupted protest. demonstrators started to flee for their lives. this is one of several cities acss the west bank where nonessential shops closed on tuesday in the name of a general strike. we are here today for the dignity strike which is a strike organized by the people to unite and raise our voices. the strike is from north to south, from the mediterranean to the jordan river. we want to raise our voices and

demand our rights. stand with our people being bound. >> it was a similar picture in east jerusalem when it with israeli forces erupted as it took up the cause to strike. the campaign has killed over 200 palestinians in gaza. israeli authorities say the strikes are aimed at destroying hamas infrastructure. the shelling his hit and damaged homes as well as several health facilities. they are struggling with shortages and medical supplies. egypt [indiscernible] on the israeli side, two more people have been killed. this after a factory in the southern region was hit by rockets. >> we are watching the developments.

an attorney professor joins us. can i start by asking you, based on your research, what needs to happen now? >> is difficult to predict what is going to happen. the israelis are ready to strike hard. it is not true that there are striking only at hamas. they are also striking at radical facilities, technologica facilities. overall, the blockade of gaza as a whole has been destroying or diminishing a lot the potential for economic groh, socia growth and so on. the attack is much more than an attack on hamas.

>> looking at the international situation, when the united states says it is backing cease-fire, is this lipservice? >> there are two needs. one immediate and one long-term and serious. immediate need of stopping the bloodshed and solving the immediate humanitarian needs, cease-fire could be useful. if the americans are ready to push israel for a cease-fire than to be useful. i'm not sure they will be successful. there is a more important need. more important need is to address the deep root causes of the situations.

that the americans are not ready nor prepared to do it. nor willing to do it. the view of the conflict is a colonial view. they view the situation exactly likehe israelis do. am talking about the administration, not the american people. their occurrence within the american society that are very critical of their leadership. basically, in order to address the issue, one has to go to the root cause. root cause is an occupation, a military occupation of the west bank. this is not my personal opinion. this is what internatial law says. this is what most countries including france, including canada, even america to some extent are saying that the territories occupied are indeed occupied and the geneva

convention applies, which means that israel does not have the right to transfer its own population in the west bank. as long as this basic issue has not been addressed thoroughly, then we will not have peace. the trouble is that many european countries will say let's go back to negotiations. there have been negotiations for 27 years now in oslo. given the huge imbalance of power between the two parties, the negotiations are not likely to produce anything unless there is very strong pressure put on israel. that is not happening. >> you make interesting points. can i ask your feeling about the political power backing the moment.

in many ways, it is set the scene for what has since lapsed and what is continuing to happen. unless that is sorted out and leadership is put in place, how can things begin to change? >> given that the western are not really doing anything to solve the issue, we are sending a message, the western democracies i am talking as a citizen of canada. we are sending a message to the palestinians that our belief and international law and liberal values does not hold an it comes to them. we are not serious about this. it means something important. if we are not able to pressure israel to comply with

international law, is up to them to do it. they don't have the power. what can they do? they can only resist, protest, and pay with their lives. we are telling them unless you pay with your lives, we are not going to move. this is a dangerous message to send. >> thank you for sharing your thoughts and your analysis with us. you're watching a course for all developments. next, the eu foreign policy chief this tuesday called for the implementation of a cease-fire to stop the fighting between israel and the palestinians. his statement was backed by all but one of the eu's 27 number states. hungary refused to support it. our correspondent has this.

it's >> today's meeting of foreign ministers ended like most meetings do when it comes to the israeli-palestinian situation. that is in a lack of agreement. he didn't see a strong statement resulting from this meeting. you saw a call for a cease-fire, an end to violence. no waiting either way about the governments's actions. that is because eu countries are split when it comes to the subject of israel. central and eastern european countries have a closer relationship with the israeli government and they are hesitant to criticize. countries like france, italy, and spain are traditionally more willing to criticize the israeli government. here, we have ended up with a non-statement. there is a question over how much the eu could do in a situation if it was unified on what should be done to end the conflict. the united states tradition that plays a larger role in the

israeli security situation, it would really need some kind of coordination between brussels and washington to have some kind of effect. in the end, washington seems unsure about how it wants to respond to the situation. in the end, this special meeting of foreign affairs ministers for the eu didn't result in anything that would move the needle. >> that was our correspondent in brussels. 8000 migrants enter a small spanish territory of morocco. madrid sent in troops to stop them from coming over the border fence. it is estimated there are 1500 underage children among them. >> the spanish military arrived on tuesday after nearly 8000 migrants made their way to its shores. many risking their lives, making

the trip and small boats and rafts. the spanish prime minister traveled to address the crisis saying that those who entered the territory illegally would be expelled. [speaking foreign language] >> spain's interior minister said many of them had already been turned back. [speaking foreign language] >> it has the eu's only land border with africa making it a magnet for refugees to enter.

despite the effort to sound all of them home, the number of arrivals could still rise. >> that's a story we are watching closely at france 24. next, hopes for a financial lifeline of africa. the summit brought together 20 heads of state including african leaders and will financial institutions. they aim to provide africa with her cofinancing after the pandemic depleted the coffers of the world's poorest region. africa has been less badly hit by the pandemic than other regions. the pandemiis over. vaccination rates across africa are low. we spoke with the president of a

search group. he is skeptical about the possible help. >> when you talk about economic growth, it is private sector. how can you discuss growth, economic transformation without inviting those who produce the growth on a daily basis? if you are not involved from only the private sector which need more financing, more helped., this agenda cannot be can you talk about growth without people making the growth happen? that is why i am skeptical about this summit, this new deal. those people making the deal on the continent those entrepreneurs, those private sector peoe they will create jobs because that is another serious issue. we need to create almost 20 million jobs every year for the african youth.

how can you create these jobs if you don't provide more capacity to the private sector? >> sharing his concerns with our colleague earlier. more on this, the president of south africa has been speaking exclusively to france 24 about the plans to reboot the economy. his country is fighting its own variant of covid-19. the tragedy brings on all levels. >> we have come up with a declaration. a balanced declaration that addresses the need for a new deal for africa. in terms of dealing with what covid has done to our economies. what covid has also done to the health situation on our continent. we have said that vaccines must be made available. it is unacceptable that only 2%

of the people on the african continent have been vaccinated. >> the president of south africa talking. that will be on france 24 at 11:15 p.m. paris time on this channel. next, some sports news. you might have said it seemed and or at least exiled from the national team since 2015 but today, recalled. >> quite an unprecedented and unexpected u-turn. that's the best way to say it. french press exploded earlier today saying he would be included in this list which he has been. the first time he has been called back to this national french team since 2015.

a player who missed the french adventure that took them to the final and 2016. a player who also missed france's try for the 2018 world cup. the comeback kid, you could call it. he was relatively tightlipped on the conversations that were held between them. they left it and acrimonious circumstances five years ago with them hunting -- hinting that they had been influenced by racist segments of society. also association with the sex tape which was the original reason why he was left out of the france term. these footballers, when the coach doesn't like it that's what happens to your career. he has played well. has the influence helped? >> yes but it is been around for a few years now.

i think his performances have spoken from themselves. they had a conversation, they needed to have a conversation to clear the air between both men. he has been outstanding for royal madrid this season. he's been pushing them to challenge for the title. it's going to be an interesting one. what is also interesting is he has selected eight attackers in his squad. we know who has to be on the starting lemon -- line. who is he going to sacrifice? will he put one of the best in the world on the bench? there are still a lot of questions and we will have to wait and see when the euros come around on the element. >> just shy of 30 goals this season. clearly his amana form. -- a man of form.

thank you for joining us on this incident -- fascinating story. more news about the situation here in france. iconic restaurants and humble bars, preparing for a grant a step toward reopening from tomorrow. wednesday will represent the start of the post-covid world. our reporters have been talking to owners of the bars and restaurants and their prospective customers. there you go, so everyone here in paris itching to get out and start socializing again. many people are concerned about what might happen in terms of what this means for the safety covid wise. the figures of infections are dropping dramatically here in france which is a good sign.

some would say it's a good sign because vaccination took a long time to get rolling and underweight now that is picking up as well which is a good sign. a good sign for many is a situation regarding the intensive care beds in hospitals. something like 90% saturation nationwide, but in the paris region, it is still over 100% which basically says it is packed with covid patients which means people who are ill for other reasons may go without the treatment they need. this adds up to lives being lost, which is a sad situation. that is on people's minds -- as things begin to reopen. government still pushing the idea of keeping the distance, washing hands, wearing masks, and keeping your guard up against the covid-19 virus as we move toward a different situation. we will be watching every step

of the way to see how that goes and keep that moving. the issue is that it's a question of keeping the figures down because if they go up again, the government change their mind and decide to close things down again. we will be watching for all developments. let's remind you of the main headlines. live it paris. the situation in the gaza strip is chief for many. we are following all developments on that. there have been disturbances across gaza as rocket fire to and from. there have been some disturbances in the west bank as well. we are watching for all developments on that situation. we will bring you more as we get it. what you are seeing is images of one of the bars about to open. it is on the iconic places. it's known as the cradle of paris.

it is very important for parisians. this is very detailed making sure everything is cleaned and ready to go. let's talk business. starting with the african finance summit. president macron: four a new deal for the continent. >> the main issues were debt relief and reallocating the imf reserve. many of the developing countries are heavily indebted. the debts were put in place so they can focus on spending money on the health crisis. that has been called insufficient. they're working to extend the agreement longer but the african union was hoping it could stay in place until next year.

also deemed insufficient is the funds allocated from the special fund at the imf to african nations. among in said that he and others would try to convince rich nations by october to reallocate funds to help african states. [speaking foreign language] >> we are ready to reallocate some of france's special drawing rights announcing 100 billion to africa. we have more than tripled africa's special drawing rights. >> the paris summit also called for the lifting of patents to enable manufacturing facilities to start producing vaccines. in egypt, the government is positioning tourism as a vital sector for its economy and it is

aiming to fully vaccinate people working in hotels, shops, and restaurants by the end of this month. followed by other tourist spots. about 1% of the countries total population has so far been vaccinated. [speaking foreign language] >> let's take a quick check on the financial markets. shares on wall street ended lower toward the end of trading. better-than-expected earnings reports from walmart and home depot. as global economy slowly reopen from the lockdowns, the airline

industry is eagerly awaiting the return of passengers. companies like air france klm received billions of -- euros. they're coming up with creative ways to keep the revenue flowing. >> nearly ready for takeoff, this flight is far from having sold out. three out of four seats are empty. the flight is operable for air france because below deck, there is a hive of activity. the belly of the plane is being filled to capacity with cargo. >> this is fish food which will be kept cold. >> with the pandemic holding much of the air travel, many commercial flights have adapted by taking on more cargo. >> with covid, the freight represents 80% of what we put in the hold. usually, it is the opposite. >> transportation shift that has allowed air france to bring in

just as much money as if the flight were sold out. the pilot is sinful for that. >> it is satisfying. we are not getting rusty. the company will be able to take off again. >> more than just a lifesaver, transporting freight has been a boon for airlines. airlines have been able to raise prices. >> this pallet of airline parts ways 1750 kilos and shipping price is 70% more than before covid. we can charge more and we need to to the planes flying. >> some companies like klm have fitted passenger seats with cargo bags to better hold packages. a temporary remodel that has allowed this flight from the netherlands to china to carry 10 extra tons and bring in 30,000 euros. not to mention keeping airline staff at work. as the chain of parcel pastors.

>> looking beyond the recovery toward future heir travel, air france klm fluids first long-haul flight powered by more sustainable fuel. the flight was part of an industrywide experiment to work with alternative sources of energy to curb emissions. the transport minister hailed it . there is still a long wato go. sustainable fuel made up 16% of supply and critics point out there's not enough used cooking oil in the world to me global aviation needs. better than just gas. >> thank you so much. great to see you. stay with us, more to come.

you watching life in paris. >> from north to south africa, bringing you all the political, economic, cultural and social news from africa. for a better insight into an ever changing continent. >> across africa. on france 24 and france between four.com. -- france24.com ♪

05/18/21 05/18/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> what israel is doing is a continuation of the green light from washington to continue oppressing and killing palestinians with impunity. amy: the israeli human rights group b'tselem is accusing israel of committing war crimes in its assault on gaza, which has killed at least 213 palestinians, including 61 children.