France’s President Macron has arrived in Tel Aviv on a visit intended to show France’s “full solidarity” with Israel.
With his trip to Israel, Macron follows the steps of leaders such as Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, U.S President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who have all made visits to the warring country.
Macron was met on his arrival by Israeli-French nationals who lost loved ones in the Hamas attack on October 7, as well as the families of hostages.
During his trip, which will include a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Macron will “show solidarity to Israel” and “make commitments against terrorist groups very clear,” his office disclosed.
According to the French President’s office, Macron will call for the “resumption of a genuine peace process” for the creation of a Palestinian state during his visit.
Macron will also call for “halting the colonisation” of the West Bank with Israeli settlements.
The French head of state was also due to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as well as opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid in Jerusalem.
Overnight Israeli air attacks have killed at least 140 Palestinians in Gaza with dozens killed in pre-dawn raids focused on Rafah and Khan Younis in the southern part of the besieged enclave.
Israel Hits 400 Targets
In a post on X, Israeli army spokesperson, Daniel Hagari disclosed that Israel has attacked more than 400 “targets”, including mosques, in the Gaza Strip in the past day.
Hagari said that the mosques were being used by Hamas as meeting places.
Hagari also said that Israel had attacked Hamas’s “operational headquarters” and that it had killed three Hamas Deputy Commanders.
He specified several Gaza neighbourhoods that Israeli warplanes had attacked, including Jabalia.
Meanwhile, the military wing of Hamas released a video showing the release on Monday of Israeli hostages; Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Yitzhak, 79, who also goes by the name Nurit Cooper.
The video shows masked men escorting the two women as they are met by representatives of the Red Cross
The Palestinian militants said they released both women on “humanitarian reasons and poor health grounds.”
Two Israeli women released by Hamas have been reunited with their families, Israeli media outlets have reported.
However, the husbands of the two women continue to be held captive in Gaza.
Stephen Zunes, a professor of Middle East politics at the University of San Francisco, hailed the the release as “a good thing.”
He opined that Hamas’s decision points to the group’s willingness to negotiate, although the current climate for talks may be difficult.
“My sense is that Hamas is using this as a goodwill gesture to try to let the Israelis know that they are willing to negotiate. Israel of course holds thousands of [Palestinian] political prisoners, a large number of them are nonviolent,” he said.
“It is possible that there could be some sign of prisoner exchange. And clearly, Hamas is trying to avoid, if possible, an Israeli ground assault on the territory.”
However, he also said that negotiations may be difficult given the current Israeli bombardment, which he said “is hardly the ideal climate for negotiations.”
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