Macron urges halt to arms deliveries to Israel

PARIS:

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday urged a halt to arms deliveries to Israel, which has been criticised over the conduct of its retaliatory operation in Gaza.

"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.

"France is not delivering any," he added during the interview recorded early this week.

The United States provides about $3 billion in weapons to Israel each year.

In May, the State Department said it did not have enough evidence to block shipments of weapons but that it was "reasonable to assess" that Israel has used arms in ways inconsistent with standards of humanitarian law.

In September, Britain said it was suspending some arms exports to Israel, citing a "clear risk" that they could be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law.

Macron reiterated his concern over the conflict in Gaza that is continuing despite repeated calls for a ceasefire.

"I think we are not being heard," he said. "I think it is a mistake, including for the security of Israel," he said, adding that the conflict was leading to "hatred."

Macron also said avoiding an escalation in Lebanon was a "priority."

"Lebanon cannot become a new Gaza," he added.

On Monday, Israel marks the first anniversary of the devastating October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war and has now engulfed neighbouring Lebanon, creating a perilous regional crisis.

The confirmed death toll from the attack, including hostages killed in captivity, has reached 1,205 on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's relentless offensive on 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. The UN has said those figures are reliable.