Egypt Daily News – French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on Sunday that France will continue to work on the Arab plan for the reconstruction of Gaza and the resumption of a political horizon based on the two-state solution.
Macron stated, “Any forced displacement or annexation of land in Gaza would be against these goals,” emphasizing that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to stop the attacks on Gaza, return to the ceasefire, and allow the resumption of humanitarian aid.
He added, “I discussed with Netanyahu the stability of Syria and the restoration of its full sovereignty over its territory,” stressing that he had also called on Israel to respect the ceasefire in Lebanon.
Israel resumed its bombardment of the Gaza Strip early on Tuesday morning, after a pause of nearly two months, specifically since the ceasefire agreement with Hamas went into effect on January 19. The agreement faltered due to difficulties in extending the first phase or moving on to the second phase of the ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had instructed the Israeli military to take “strong action” against Hamas, “in response to its refusal to release the hostages and its rejection of all ceasefire proposals.”
On the other hand, the Palestinian group Hamas held Netanyahu and his government fully responsible for “violating the ceasefire agreement and exposing the prisoners in Gaza to an uncertain fate.”
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was supposed to continue once the first phase was extended, which ended on March 1, or progress into its second phase. However, disagreements between Israel and Hamas regarding the next steps prevented this.
