French authorities have banned Israeli defense firms from exhibiting at a trade show next month near Paris, organizers said on Friday. "By decision of the government authorities, there will be no stand for the Israeli defense industry at the Eurosatory 2024 fair," the organizer, Coges Event, said. Neither Coges nor the defense ministry provided an explanation.

Seventy-four Israeli firms had been set to be represented at the event from June 17 to 21 at fairgrounds close to Paris' main international airport, with Coges previously saying around 10 of them were to exhibit weapons. Contacted by Agence France-Presse, the Israeli embassy said it did not wish to comment.

The incident comes days after the Israeli bombing of a camp for displaced people in the Gaza Strip sparked international outrage and protests in France. The air raids killed at least 45 people in the town of Rafah in the night of Sunday to Monday in the south of the besieged Palestinian territory, according to local authorities, almost eight months into the latest Gaza war.

A group of activists last week in a legal warning urged Coges to take measures to avoid the buying and selling of weapons that could be used in "crimes" committed in Gaza or other parts of the occupied Palestinian territories. ASER, Stop Arming Israel, Urgency Palestine and the France-Palestine Solidarity Association also warned against profits from the fair "reinforcing the economic power of firms likely to participate in these crimes."

Coges told AFP it was "a fair solely for the presentation of defense and security equipment (...) and in no means a place for deals."