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Civilians are being bombed in Gaza, and this must stop, French President Emmanuel Macron told the BBC on Friday.
Macron stated that France “clearly condemns” the October 7 Hamas attacks. “We feel [Israel’s] pain. And we share their desire to eliminate terrorism. In France, we understand what terrorism entails.”
However, there was “no justification” for the ongoing bombing of civilians in Gaza, he added.
“It’s extremely important for all of us, because of our principles, because we are democracies, it’s important for the mid-to-long run, as well for the security of Israel itself, to recognise that all lives matter,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.
Macron spoke with the BBC a day after Paris hosted a humanitarian aid conference about Gaza. The “clear conclusion” of all the governments and agencies that took part, the French president said, was “that there is no other solution than first a humanitarian pause, going to a ceasefire, which will allow [us] to protect… all civilians having nothing to do with terrorists.”
Several non-governmental organisations, as well as the governments of Algeria and Colombia, have advocated for the prosecution of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza. When pressed on the matter, Macron evaded the question, claiming that it would be inappropriate for a head of state to criticise “a partner and a friend” just a month after a terrorist attack.
However, he argued that Israel’s best defence is not a “large bombing of Gaza,” which only creates “resentment and bad feelings” in the region.
During a visit to Israel last month, Macron proposed reactivating the US-led “global coalition against ISIS” – also known as the Islamic State – to combat Hamas. Netanyahu, on the other hand, did not appear to be interested.
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded to Macron’s call by saying that Hamas was to blame for all the deaths in Gaza because it was using “schools, mosques, and hospitals as terror command centres” and civilians as human shields.
“These crimes that Hamas-ISIS is committing today in Gaza will be committed tomorrow in Paris, New York, and all over the world.” “The world must condemn Hamas-ISIS, not Israel,” Netanyahu said.
According to Israel, 1,200 of its citizens were killed and 240 were abducted during Hamas’s October 7 incursion. As of Friday, more than 11,000 Palestinians had been killed and 27,490 had been injured in Gaza as a result of Israel’s month-long offensive. Another 1.5 million people have been added.