Israel rejects Macron's call to ‘stop killing babies, women’ in Gaza

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel on Saturday rejected French President Emmanuel Macron's call to stop killing babies and women in the Gaza Strip.

“The responsibility for any harm to civilians lies with Hamas - ISIS and not with Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

“It must be remembered that Israel entered the war due to that terrorist organisation's brutal murder of hundreds of Israelis and holding hostage more than 200 Israelis,” Netanyahu said.

“Hamas - ISIS is cruelly holding our people hostage - women, children, the elderly - and thus committing a crime against humanity,” he added.

Netanyahu did not provide evidence for his allegations about the mistreatment of Israeli prisoners by Hamas, but the released prisoner Yocheved Lifshitz said that the movement “treated the prisoners with kindness.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen responded to Macron's statements saying that “the responsibility for all the events - the massacre, the war that started and the suffering of the residents in Gaza - is the responsibility of Hamas-ISIS alone, which is the greatest enemy of the Palestinians.”

“Israel is acting according to international law and will continue its actions until the elimination of Hamas-ISIS and the release of all the abductees,” he added.

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to stop killing babies and women in Gaza.

It is important for Israel's security to "recognize that all lives matter," Macron told the BBC at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris.

"De facto - today, civilians are bombed - 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," he said.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip -- including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship -- since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 11,078 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,506 children and 3,027 women. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi