French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated, during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the call for a “sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza amid the continuing rise in civilian casualties.
The Elysee stated in a statement on Wednesday that Macron emphasized during the phone call, “the necessity of working towards a sustainable ceasefire, with the assistance of all regional and international partners.” The statement added that “France will work in the coming days, in cooperation with Jordan, to implement humanitarian operations in Gaza.”
President Macron expressed to Netanyahu his “deep concern regarding the severe losses among civilians and the absolute humanitarian emergency faced by the civilian population in Gaza.” He also reiterated the “importance of Israel taking all necessary measures to end the violence committed by some settlers against Palestinian civilians” in the occupied West Bank, “as well as any new settlement project” in this area.
Last week, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna announced that France “will take national actions against some of these extremist settlers.” The violence of settlers in the West Bank has escalated since the beginning of the war in Gaza on October 7.
More than two and a half months after the outbreak of the war following the “Flood of Al-Aqsa” operation carried out by Hamas, the Gaza Health Ministry announced on Wednesday an increase in the number of casualties from Israeli bombing to 21,110 dead, most of them civilians.
Additionally, there has been international attention and response to the situation. The United Nations Security Council has voted on a resolution concerning the conflict in Gaza. The resolution, described as ‘diluted’, aimed at softening the language regarding the cessation of hostilities. The resolution was passed after multiple delays, indicating the complexities and sensitivities involved in the international community’s response to the situation in Gaza.
