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With Israel visit, Macron seeks to balance solidarity with Israel and calls for peace
(JTA) — French President Emmauel Macron visited Jerusalem on Tuesday, attempting to balance his solidarity with Israel alongside his calls for humanitarian aid in Gaza and a political peace process with the Palestinians.
Thirty French citizens were killed in the Hamas incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, which left over 1,400 people in Israel dead and over 200 taken hostage. Nine French nationals are still missing and believed to be held captive. About 50 other French citizens are stuck in the besieged Gaza Strip, which has been pounded with Israeli airstrikes.
After a closed-door meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Macron said in a press conference that their countries shared the common enemy of terrorism. He added that Hamas’ onslaught dealt France its worst death toll from a terror attack since 2016, when 86 people were killed during a Bastille Day celebration in Nice.
Macron also met with about 30 family members of French and French-Israeli victims of Hamas in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
But he additionally urged Israel to adhere to the laws of war and protect civilians in Gaza, who are living in a dire humanitarian crisis with dwindling access to water, food and electricity. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, the war has killed more than 6,000 Palestinians trapped in the coastal enclave.
“The fight must be merciless, but not lawless, because we are democracies and we are fighting against terrorists,” said Macron. “Democracies respect the rules of war and ensure humanitarian access. Democracies do not target civilians, neither in Gaza nor elsewhere.”
The French president has emerged as one of the most prominent Western voices pushing Netanyahu to allow humanitarian aid in Gaza. He urged Israel to reestablish electricity for hospitals, while ensuring the electricity is not misappropriated by Hamas, which has diverted millions of aid funds in the past.
Macron also warned Israel’s neighbors to avoid escalating the war into a broader regional conflict. He suggested that the international coalition set up to fight the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq could be widened to fight Hamas.
He closed his remarks by insisting on a peaceful, political resolution to Israel’s decades-long conflict with the Palestinians.
“Regional stability and return to normalization can only take place if Israel defends its security, fights against violence but also accepts the legitimate right of Palestinians to have a state, to live in peace and in security side by side with Israel,” he said.
Macron also became one of few Western leaders who has met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah since the start of the fighting, despite a ban by Israel that deemed “security conditions” in the West Bank insufficient. Only Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has also visited Ramallah. On Wednesday, Macron went on to meet King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt.
Meanwhile in Paris, the World Jewish Congress convened a meeting on Tuesday to address a global surge in antisemitic hate speech online. Representatives from across the world reported that Hamas has used internet and social media platforms to fuel a spike in hate speech and disinformation since the Oct. 7 attacks, an effort that the platforms’ content moderation and monitoring strategies have failed to prevent.
According to a report published alongside the forum, Hamas has also amassed support among far-right and racist ideologies, pointing to a shift in extremist circles around the globe.
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The post With Israel visit, Macron seeks to balance solidarity with Israel and calls for peace appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’
FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an “irreparable abyss,” and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict.
US forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.
“Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims.
“No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,” he added.
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,” Pope Leo said.
The post Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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El Al Says to Start Rescue Flights Out of Israel Starting on Monday, After Getting 25,000 Applications
FILE PHOTO: Aircraft belonging to Israel’s state carrier El Al and Israir among other airlines, are parked at Larnaca International Airport, in Larnaca, Cyprus June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
Israeli airline El Al said it would resume flights out of Tel Aviv airport on Monday, as the government began to allow limited “rescue” flights in the midst of the Middle East conflict and US bombing of Iran.
El Al said it had received 25,000 applications for flights out of Israel since it opened a web site for requests on Saturday, although government rules will limit flights to 50 passengers each, it added in a Sunday statement.
The post El Al Says to Start Rescue Flights Out of Israel Starting on Monday, After Getting 25,000 Applications first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Urges China to Dissuade Iran from Closing Strait of Hormuz
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Rubio’s comments on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo” show came after Iran’s Press TV reported that the Iranian parliament approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and gas flows.
“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” said Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser.
“If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It’s economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours.”
Rubio said a move to close the strait would be a massive escalation that would merit a response from the US and others.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately provide comment.
US officials said it “obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites using 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft. The strikes mark an escalation in the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict.
Tehran has vowed to defend itself. Rubio on Sunday warned against retaliation, saying such an action would be “the worst mistake they’ve ever made.”
He added that the US is prepared to talk with Iran.
The post US Urges China to Dissuade Iran from Closing Strait of Hormuz first appeared on Algemeiner.com.