French President Emmanuel Macron has called for other countries to stop delivering weapons to Israel that will be used in its war in Gaza, where more than 41,000 people have died in nearly a year of fighting.
“I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza,” Macron told broadcaster France Inter in an interview aired on Saturday but recorded earlier this week.
“France is not delivering any,” he added.
The president expressed frustration over the ongoing conflict, which is approaching its one-year anniversary despite international calls for a ceasefire.
“I think we are not being heard,” Macron said. “I think it is a mistake, including for the security of Israel,” he said, arguing that the conflict was leading to “hatred” in the region and beyond.
Macron also said avoiding an escalation in Lebanon, where Israel has carried out raids against Hamas and Hezbollah, was a “priority”.
“The Lebanese people must not be sacrificed in turn, Lebanon cannot become another Gaza,” he said.
Arms exports continue
France maintains that it exports only defensive military equipment to Israel, though it has supplied components for lethal weapons.
The United States provides the equivalent of around €2.7 billion in weapons to Israel each year, making it by far the country’s biggest supplier. Washington has so far declined to cut off exports, despite acknowledging that they have been used against civilians.
Germany, which accounts for an estimated 30 percent of major arms exported to Israel, has also continued to send weapons.
Several other Western countries have moved to restrict sales, including third-biggest supplier Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, which said last month it was suspending some arms exports because of a “clear risk” that they could be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law.
Tense anniversary
The Israeli military has indicated it is preparing fresh assaults around the anniversary of the 7 October attacks by Hamas that triggered its retaliatory operation.
The confirmed death toll from the attacks, including hostages killed in captivity, has reached 1,205 on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to news agency AFP tallies based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has so far killed at least 41,825 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.
Protests in support of Palestinians have been called this weekend in cities across the world to mark the anniversary, including Paris, London, Rome, Berlin and Cape Town.