French President Emmanuel Macron said Israel “must more precisely define” what it seeks to accomplish in its war on Hamas as the full elimination of the Palestinian militant group would take a decade, according to Politico.
“We are at a moment when Israeli authorities must more precisely define their objectives and their final goal: the total destruction of Hamas — does anyone think it is possible? If this is the case, the war will last 10 years,” Macron said on Saturday.
Macron told a press conference at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai: “There is no lasting security for Israel in the region if its security is achieved at the cost of Palestinian lives.”
Macron made the comments after the Israeli military intensified its bombing of the Gaza Strip, on the second day after a truce between Israel and Hamas collapsed, with Israel accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the agreement.
A Palestinian official familiar with the truce efforts told the BBC the negotiations are completely stalled and there are currently no contacts or attempts to reach a humanitarian pause in the fighting.
Reuters reported that residents feared the Israeli barrages were a prelude to a ground operation in the south of the Palestinian territory which would bottle them up in a shrinking area and possibly try to push them into Egypt.