A Palestinian couple from the Gaza Strip requested international protection in France, after arriving in French Guiana on 12 April 2023. Their request was rejected by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) on 27 July 2023. They appealed the decision before the National Court of Asylum (CNDA), arguing that they were threatened by members of Hamas and cited the deteriorating security situation in the Gaza Strip, which was on the grip of an armed conflict between Hamas forces and the Israeli armed forces.

The CNDA allowed the appeal and ruled that Palestinians from the Gaza Strip protected by the United Nations (UN) can apply for international protection in France as the protection they should be able to benefit from UNRWA, with whom they had registered, can no longer be ensured in practice.

The court referred to the CJEU judgment LN, SN v Zamestnik-predsedatel na Darzhavna agentsia za bezhantsite (C-563/22) of 13 June 2024, in which the CJEU held that applicants of Palestinian origin registered with UNRWA should be granted refugee status if UNRWA's protection or assistance has ceased.

The CNDA examined UNRWA's ability to fulfil its mission in light of the deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. The CNDA considered that the Gaza Strip is in the grip of an armed conflict between Hamas forces and Israeli armed forces and that this territory is facing a major humanitarian crisis. In reaching this conclusion, it relied on publicly available documentary sources, including data from the non-governmental organization The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the UNRWA situation report, notes from the World Health Organization (WHO) and press releases from the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

Thus, the CNDA granted refugee protection to the applicants, considering that UNRWA was no longer able to effectively provide assistance and protection to any Palestinian residing in the Gaza Strip.