During a telephone interview this Sunday, March 24, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “his firm opposition to an Israeli offensive on Rafah,” as detailed in a press release from the Elysée.
The French president also warned his counterpart that any “forced transfer of population” would constitute a “war crime in the sense of international law.”
An offensive denounced by the international community
Israel plans a controversial ground offensive, denounced by the international community, in Rafah, even without the support of its American ally. “I told him that we had no chance of defeating Hamas without entering Rafah and without eliminating the battalions that were left there. I told him that I hoped to do it with the support of the United States, but ‘We have to do it, he will do it alone,'” Benjamin explained. Netanyahu after an interview with the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken.
For Antony Blinken, an operation of this type “risks killing more civilians (…), further isolating Israel globally and endangering its long-term security.”
“We have the same goals as Israel: the defeat of Hamas. But a major ground operation in Rafah is not the way to achieve this. Next week I will meet again with Israeli officials in Washington to discuss “another way to achieve this goal.” ” , he added in X.
“Serious concern” over IDF operations at hospital
Emmanuel Macron, who calls “For an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza.“, also “strongly condemned the recent Israeli announcements regarding colonization”, while the Hebrew State announced the confiscation of 800 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley, in the occupied West Bank.
While the IDF has been carrying out a major operation since Monday in the large Al Chifa hospital complex in Gaza City, where they claim to have killed some 170 fighters and promise to stay until the last one is found, Emmanuel Macron expressed “his most deep concern.” about the operations” carried out by the Israeli army.
Emmanuel Macron also once again stressed “that the future of Gaza can only be played out within the framework of a future Palestinian State and under the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority.”
Source: BFM TV
