Emmanuel Macron once again wanted to make known to the Israeli Prime Minister his very strong dissatisfaction with the situation of civilians in the Gaza Strip. The head of state therefore raised his tone on Sunday towards Benyamin Netanyahu, once again marking “his firm opposition” to an Israeli offensive on Rafah and warning that “the forced transfer of the population constituted a war crime”.
During a telephone interview with Benyamin Netanyahu, the French leader also “strongly condemned the recent Israeli announcements in terms of colonization”, indicated the Elysée. Israel announced on Friday the seizure of 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank.
France wants to bring a resolution to the UN
He also announced his intention to bring to the UN Security Council a draft resolution to call for “an immediate and lasting ceasefire” in Gaza. But Moscow and Beijing opposed a similar resolution proposal from Washington on Friday, denouncing in particular a “hypocritical” text.
Five and a half months of devastating war have plunged the Gaza Strip into a catastrophic humanitarian situation. The tenant of the Élysée therefore insisted that Israel open “without delay and without conditions all existing land crossing points towards the Gaza Strip”.
On Sunday, Emmanuel Macron also spoke on the telephone on Sunday with King Abdullah II of Jordan. The two leaders “discussed the toll and the unjustifiable humanitarian situation in Gaza”, according to the Elysée. They jointly pleaded for an “immediate and lasting” ceasefire and “insisted on the fact that subjecting civilians to the risk of starvation was unjustifiable”. They also favored a two-state solution, “the only one capable of responding to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians for peace and security” and which “involves the creation of a Palestinian state including Gaza”.
A particularly tragic outcome since October 7
The war broke out on October 7 after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli soil that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to a count from official Israeli sources. According to these sources, around 250 people were kidnapped and 130 of them are still hostages in Gaza, 33 of whom are believed to have died.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas in power in Gaza since 2007. Its army launched an offensive which left 32,226 people dead in Gaza, according to the latest report from the Hamas Health Ministry.