The International Olympic Committee was Tuesday 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, the IOC was studying a letter sent by the Palestine Olympic Committee to President Thomas Bach asking him to ban the Israelis, citing the bombings of the besieged Gaza Strip as a breach of the Olympic truce.

The letter sent on Monday “emphasized 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.”

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.

War erupted when Hamas-led terrorists rampaged across southern communities on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages to Gaza.

The Hamas-run health ministry says that over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military offensive in the Strip, which aims to eliminate the terror group and return the hostages. The toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 15,000 combatants in battle and some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 attack.

Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border stands at 327.

France’s foreign minister has already had to intervene to stress that Israeli athletes are welcome at the Games after a far-left French politician called for them to be barred over the Gaza offensive.