French President Emmanuel Macron visits Tel Aviv Tuesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office announced.
His visit comes more than two weeks after Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials. Among them were 30 French citizens.
WATCH: French President Emmanuel Macron lands in Israel, where he is expected to call for the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process
— Bloomberg (@business) October 24, 2023
Our coverage is free to read: https://t.co/qKx7lIEj2A pic.twitter.com/lwsigCczuZ
“We are linked to Israel by mourning,” the French president wrote on social media this morning.
Nous sommes liés à Israël par le deuil.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 24, 2023
Trente de nos compatriotes ont été assassinés le 7 octobre. Neuf autres sont encore portés disparus ou retenus en otage.
À Tel-Aviv, auprès de leurs familles, j'ai exprimé la solidarité de la Nation. pic.twitter.com/d62qT7e8US
His advisers said that beyond showing solidarity with Israel, Macron wanted to make "proposals that are as operational as possible" to prevent an escalation, free hostages, guarantee Israel's security and work towards a two-state solution.
At this delicate juncture of the conflict with Hamas, Macron is expected to be pushing for a humanitarian truce despite a looming ground offensive into Gaza.
Declining to elaborate on what these proposals could be, a Macron adviser only said in a briefing to reporters there were things that could be done so that Israel doesn't feel alone in its fight against terrorism.
Macron will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and centrist leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid for the opposition.
Israel says around 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the area under attack.
Since then, more than 5,000 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in relentless Israeli bombardments in retaliation for the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist militant group, according to the latest toll from the Hamas health ministry in Gaza.
Seven French citizens are still missing. One of them, a French woman, has been confirmed as among the hostages taken by Hamas. Macron has said the others are also thought to be hostages, but there has not yet been confirmation of this yet.
US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have already visited Israel.
On Monday, Dutch PM Mark Rutte arrived in Israel. He is to travel to Ramallah on Tuesday and meet with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked the leaders for their support of Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas's brutal terrorism.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 22, 2023
French President Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Rutte will arrive tomorrow and Tuesday and will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
(With newswires)
