Emmanuel Macron's comments came at the Cop28 talks, where he spoke during the climate conference in Dubai. Photo: Getty Images
Emmanuel Macron, French The president warned Israel that its goal of eliminating Hamas would take a decade, if it was achievable at all.
“What is the complete destruction of Hamas and does anyone think that is this possible? If so, the war will last 10 years,” Macron said on Saturday.
Israel has vowed to continue ground operations in the Gaza Strip until all its goals are achieved, including the eradication of Hamas.“We will continue the war until we achieve all its goals,” Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel. , repeated in an address on Saturday evening. He said he had instructed the IDF to “step up” the operation to destroy Hamas and “free our hostages.” >Mr Macron said Israel's “long-term security” was at risk and could not be guaranteed if it “came at the cost of Palestinian lives and therefore the outrage of all public opinion in the region.”
“I think “that we are at a stage where the Israeli authorities will have to define more precisely their goal and the desired end state,” Mr Macron said, speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN climate talks Cop28.
United The US also weighed in on its ally's attacks over the weekend, with Vice President Kamala Harris slamming the rise in civilian casualties.
“Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” she said. “Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming out of the Gaza Strip are simply devastating.”
Lloyd Austin, the US defense secretary, also said protecting civilians is a “moral responsibility.” Israel.< /p>
The United States provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel annually, and statements from senior officials have increased pressure from Washington on Israel to exercise more caution as it shifts the focus of its military offensive further south.
Asked In Reply In response to Macron's remarks, Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Netanyahu, said Israel does not want Gazan civilians to be caught in the crossfire.
'Halfway to achieving our goals'
The Israeli army resumed shelling the Gaza Strip on Friday after the failure of a week-long truce.
Israel said its air, naval and ground forces had attacked more than 400 targets in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire. He also ordered the evacuation of more areas in and around Gaza's second-largest city, Khan Yunis, as he shifted his offensive to the southern half of the territory.
Israel is reportedly planning a campaign against Hamas that will last a year or more, with the most intense phase of the ground offensive beginning in early 2024, according to a Financial Times report.
“ It will be a very long war… Currently we are not yet halfway to achieving our goals,” one person familiar with Israel’s military plans told the newspaper. Sources said his goals included killing three senior Hamas leaders, securing a “decisive” military victory over the group's 24 battalions and destroying its “governance capacity in the Gaza Strip.”
This is not the first time Mr. n Macron made loud statements regarding the conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip. On November 11, Mr. Macron said Israel must stop killing babies and women in the Gaza Strip and that – while he recognizes Israel's right to protection – there is “no justification” for bombing “those babies, these women, these old people.”
The next day, Macron called Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, to clarify that he “does not and does not intend to accuse Israel of deliberately harming innocent civilians in the campaign against the terrorist organization Hamas.”
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