French president calls for end to Gaza war, welcomes US proposal on cease-fire

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called for an end to the Gaza war and expressed his support for US President Joe Biden’s cease-fire proposal “for durable peace.”

“The war in Gaza must end. We support the US proposal for a durable peace. Just as we are working with our partners in the region on peace and security for all,” said Macron on X in Arabic, Hebrew, and English.

“The release of the hostages, a permanent ceasefire to work towards peace and progress on the two-state solution,” he added.

Biden said earlier that Israel presented the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, with a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.

The US president appealed to Hamas to accept the deal and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stave off pressure from members of his governing coalition who are opposed to the plan.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed about 1,200 people.

Nearly 36,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its onslaught nearly eight months ago. The majority of those killed have been women and children, with more than 82,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.