PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called for an end to the fighting in Gaza, saying France was giving “full support” to mediation efforts in the war between Israel and Hamas.
“The war in Gaza must stop,” Macron wrote on X. “This must be clear to everyone.”
The cessation of hostilities was “crucial for the people of Gaza, for the hostages and for the stability of the region that is at stake today.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to resume ceasefire talks in Gaza on August 15 at the request of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Mediators from the United States, Qatar and Egypt tried to broker a second truce in the 10-month war that began with an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7.
The three countries invited the warring parties to resume talks in Doha or Cairo “to close all remaining gaps and start implementing the agreement without further delay.”
Macron also spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Friday, his office said.
The three leaders called on all parties to “put an end at all costs to this logic of retaliation, which risks setting the region on fire to the detriment of all,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement.
The statement called for “an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to free all hostages, protect the people of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid on a large scale.”
Macron also “welcomed the diplomatic efforts of Egypt and Qatar in cooperation with the United States,” the three mediating countries, his office added.
Macron also discussed the crisis with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and both leaders “expressed their deep concern at the rising tensions in the region,” the Elysee Palace said.
Macron and Starmer backed a statement by the US, Egypt and Qatar calling for a swift resumption of talks on a ceasefire and the release of hostages, Macron's office added.
