IOC mulls Palestinian call for Israel ban from Paris 2024

The International Olympic Committee has been weighing a Palestinian call for Israeli athletes to be barred from the Games over the war in Gaza, three days before the Opening Ceremony in Paris.

As the Israeli Olympic team settled into the Athletes' Village on Tuesday, the IOC was studying a letter sent by the Palestine Olympic Committee to President Thomas Bach.

The letter sent on Monday asked him to ban the Israelis, citing the bombings of besieged Gaza as a breach of the Olympic truce.

It "emphasised that Palestinian athletes, particularly those in Gaza, are denied safe passage and have suffered significantly due to the ongoing conflict".

It said "approximately 400 Palestinian athletes have been killed, and the destruction of sports facilities exacerbates the plight of athletes who are already under severe restrictions".

Competitors flood into Paris

The IOC is likely to reject the Palestinian call but it highlights how the rising death toll and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza is impacting the Paris Games.

France's foreign minister has already had to intervene to stress that Israeli athletes are welcome at the Games after French politicians called for them to be barred over the Gaza offensive.

Competitors were flooding into the Olympic Village to take up residence in the compound in northern Paris, with national flags hanging from many windows.

Some of the biggest names set to perform at the Olympics — gymnast Simone Biles and Spanish tennis pair Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — have been spotted at the village.

The line-up for the ceremony, which marks the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside of the main stadium, is yet to be fully announced.