Paris, Oct 22 (UNI) France plans to evacuate over 100 citizens residing in the Gaza Strip against the backdrop of the ongoing escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Sunday.

"We maintain contact with French families living in the Gaza Strip. About 100 French people and their families are now there. We are making every effort to ensure that they can get away from this dangerous zone with the ongoing bombing … We look forward to helping them leave," Colonna said in an interview with La Tribune newspaper.

A ceasefire agreement is necessary to open the humanitarian corridor to the Gaza Strip, the minister said, adding that Israel is obliged to respect international law, including protection of civilians, despite its right to defend itself.

"The fight should be directed against Hamas, not the Palestinians who are already suffering in this situation, " Colonna noted.

On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and seizing people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured on both sides.

(With UNI/SPUTNIK inputs)