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Netanyahu Responds to Macron: Only Hamas-ISIS Is Responsible for Harming Civilians
France’s President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a tribute ceremony at the Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, southern France, on March 20, 2022. Photo: Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to French President Emmanuel Macron’s comment on Israel killing civilians in Gaza. Israel’s PM stated that: “It must be remembered that Israel entered the war due to that terrorist organization’s brutal murder of hundreds of Israelis and holding hostage more than 200 Israelis.”
He added that “While Israel does everything in its power to avoid harming civilians and urges them to leave the battle areas, Hamas – ISIS is doing all it can to prevent them from moving to safe areas and uses them as human shields.”
Statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron:
“The responsibility for any harm to civilians lies with Hamas – ISIS and not with Israel.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 10, 2023
Netanyahu also warned that “The crimes being committed today by Hamas – ISIS in Gaza will be committed tomorrow in Paris, New York and all over the world. The leaders of the world should be condemning Hamas – ISIS, not Israel.”
In his interview to BBC released earlier on Friday, Macron said: “De facto – today, civilians are bombed – de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop.”
‘This might have been the day when Macron felt that he has to counter balance some of the very pro-Israeli statements at the beginning of the war’, says @ShekDaniel to @Nicole_Zedek adding that it might be the beginning of the end of international solidarity with Israel pic.twitter.com/iTgHhtohRs
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) November 11, 2023
France’s President also stated that “we do share [Israel’s] pain. And we do share their willingness to get rid of terrorism. We know what terrorism means in France,” but there is “no justification” for “bombing of civilians” in Gaza.
During his solidarity visit to Israel earlier last month, Macron suggested establishing an international coalition “to fight Hamas-Isis”: “We have to renew the political process for peace, but Hamas is a terrorist group that does not represent the Palestinian people.” Back then, the French leader also stated: “I come to tell you of our solidarity, and that you have every right to defend yourself. You are not alone.”
The post Netanyahu Responds to Macron: Only Hamas-ISIS Is Responsible for Harming Civilians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Kurdish-led SDF Say Five Members Killed During Attack by Islamic State in Syria
Islamic State slogans painted along the walls of the tunnel was used by Islamic State militants as an underground training camp in the hillside overlooking Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017. Photo: via Reuters Connect.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Sunday that five of its members had been killed during an attack by Islamic State militants on a checkpoint in eastern Syria’s Deir el-Zor on July 31.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Islamic State in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The Islamic State has been trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia. Deir el-Zor city was captured by Islamic State in 2014, but the Syrian army retook it in 2017.
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Armed Groups Attack Security Force Personnel in Syria’s Sweida, Killing One, State TV Reports
People ride a motorcycle past a burned-out military vehicle, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes, and government forces, in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Armed groups attacked personnel from Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday.
The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.
Violence in Sweida erupted on July 13 between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.
The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had long-standing tensions over land and other resources.
A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. Syria said it would investigate the clashes, setting up a committee to investigate the attacks.
The Sweida bloodshed last month was a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, after a wave of sectarian violence in March that killed hundreds of Alawite citizens in the coastal region.
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Netanyahu Urges Red Cross to Aid Gaza Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross’s regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.