Israel must stop bombing Gaza and killing civilians, French President Emmanuel Macron has told British media.
There was \u201cno legitimacy\u201d for the bombing, Macron told the BBC in an interview published late on Friday, adding that a ceasefire would benefit Israel.
\u201cThese babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed,\u201d the French leader said. \u201cSo there is no reason for that,\u201d he added. \u201cSo we do urge Israel to stop,\u201d he added
He said France \u201cclearly condemns\u201d the \u201cterrorist\u201d actions of Hamas, but that while recognising Israel\u2019s right to protect itself, \u201cwe do urge them to stop this bombing\u201d in Gaza.
\u201cI hope they will,\u201d the French president said when asked if he wanted other leaders \u2013 including in the United States and Britain \u2013 to join his calls for a ceasefire.
Washington has refused to support calls for a full ceasefire, instead backing short stops in fighting to allow humanitarian aid.
Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, which killed at least 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials. The intense bombings and ground assaults by Israel on Gaza have since killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to health officials.
Israel has faced growing calls for restraint, but has said Hamas would take advantage of a ceasefire to bolster its positions.
In a statement responding to Macron\u2019s comments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that world leaders should be condemning Hamas, and not Israel.
\u201cThese crimes that Hamas [is] committing today in Gaza will be committed tomorrow in Paris, New York and anywhere in the world,\u201d Netanyahu said.
Macron\u2019s interview with the BBC aired a day after a humanitarian conference on Gaza was held in Paris.
Macron said the \u201cclear conclusion\u201d of all governments and agencies present at that summit was \u201cthat there is no other solution than first a humanitarian pause, going to a ceasefire\u201d in order to protect the lives of \u201call civilians having nothing to do with terrorists\u201d.
\u201cDe facto \u2013 today, civilians are bombed \u2013 de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop,\u201d he said.
The United Nations and international rights groups have warned about the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, with the global organisation saying the lives of one million children are \u201changing by a thread\u201d.
Since the start of the war, France has banned pro-Palestinian rallies and cracked down on those taking to the streets to protest against the killing of civilians in Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israel must stop bombing Gaza and killing civilians, French President Emmanuel Macron has told British media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n