Overview

• On July 11, France’s Cour nationale du droit d’asile granted full refugee status to a Gazan mother and her son, marking the first time Palestinians not protected by UNRWA have received this designation.
• The CNDA convened an expanded nine-judge panel to reverse Ofpra’s November 2024 ruling that had offered the family only subsidiary protection.
• The court ruled that Israeli military methods in Gaza meet the threshold of persecution under the 1951 Geneva Convention, qualifying the applicants for refugee status.
• Advocacy groups including Amnesty International praised the decision as a major legal precedent that could extend asylum rights to other Gaza residents.
• The ruling comes as international bodies intensify legal scrutiny of Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, with ICJ hearings on aid blockades and French probes into alleged genocide.