French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged nations to "work towards a ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as he hosted a conference on humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory. Israel is not attending the event, which welcomes officials from more than 50 countries, plus UN agencies and NGOs.
"In the immediate term, we need to work on protecting civilians. To do that, we need a humanitarian pause very quickly and we must work towards a ceasefire," Macron told delegates.
Israel had the right to defend itself, Macron said, but added it also had an “eminent responsibility of abiding by law” as it responds to Hamas’s deadly 7 October attack.
Civilians in Gaza are “paying the price” of the Israel-Hamas war, Macron said, adding that the population “has to be protected”.
France will increase its aid for Palestinian civilians to 100 million euros, Macron announced as he called on other countries to follow suit in increasing their financial contributions via the United Nations.
Although Israel is absent from the aid conference, Macron is due to speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once the event is over.
West Bank 'boiling'
Meanwhile Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said he was concerned about the spillover risk of the situation in Gaza, adding that the West Bank "is boiling".
Lazzarini also said there was need for a meaningful continuous humanitarian aid to Gaza, including fuel. Aid coming in through Rafah was inadequate, he said, adding that all crossings into Gaza should be opened.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths described the conflict in Gaza as a wildfire that could spread across the region. Allowing the situation to continue in Gaza would be a "travesty", he said.
"The United Nations cannot be part of unilateral proposal to push Palestinians into so-called safe zones," Griffiths said.
Egypt condemned what it called "international silence on violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israel".
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told the conference: "What the Israeli government is doing far exceeds the right to self-defence."
No end to fighting
Fighting is raging more than a month after the unprecedented attacks on Israel by the Islamist group Hamas, who killed more than 1,400 people – mostly civilians – and taking more than 240 hostages
The health ministry in Gaza said on Thursday that at least 10,812 Palestinians, including 4,412 children, had been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the number of civilians killed in the Gaza Strip shows that there is something "clearly wrong" with Israel's military operations against Hamas.
