The French assault ship Tonnerre set sail today, Thursday, to the eastern Mediterranean to support hospitals struggling to cope with the high number of casualties from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza as fuel and medical supplies are running low. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that he would send the helicopter carrier to assist the residents of Gaza in obtaining medicine and care.
The French Ministry of Defense said today that the role of the 199-meter warship relates to humanitarian support, but it is not yet clear whether this means delivering medical supplies to Gaza or treating injured Palestinians on board. A spokesperson for the Joint Defense Staff mentioned, “We have not yet set conditions for providing humanitarian support. The idea is to reach the area first and then provide as much assistance as possible.”
The deployment of Tonnerre, which means "thunder," comes at a time when leaders of EU countries are preparing to call for the opening of humanitarian corridors to and from the territory and temporarily halting the bombardment to deliver aid.
The ministry stated on its website that the Tonnerre, capable of carrying military helicopters, tanks, and amphibious vehicles, could also serve as a floating hospital with dozens of beds, an X-ray unit, and two surgical units. France previously stationed the warship in Corsica during the COVID-19 pandemic to evacuate civilian patients and has sent it to French territories in the Caribbean affected by hurricanes. There are already two French frigates in the eastern Mediterranean.
