French President Emmanuel Macron angers Israel, Hamas to look at ceasefire again
Israel accused France of going on a “crusade against the Jewish state” after President Emmanuel Macron raised their ire as Hamas had a change of heart over the new US-brokered ceasefire.
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Hamas has changed its mind about outright rejecting a US pitched ceasefire with Israel which involves the release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of a further 18 in exchange for laying down arms for 60 days.
A day after knocking back the offer, Senior Hamas official Basem Naim released a more nuanced statment on their position on Friday.
He said the proposal shows Israel “fundamentally seeks to entrench the occupation and perpetuate policies of killing and starvation, even during what is supposed to be a period of temporary de-escalation,” but said Hamas was nevertheless “currently undertaking a thorough and responsible review of the new proposal.”
Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff sent the agreement, which has been signed off by Israel, to Hamas on Thursday.
“We do believe that it has some significant promise,” US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
“There is some optimism.”
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‘CRUSADE AGAINST THE JEWISH STATE’
Israel accused French President Emmanuel Macron of undertaking a “crusade against the Jewish state” on Friday after he called for European countries to harden their stance on Israel if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve.
“There is no humanitarian blockade. That is a blatant lie,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement, defending its efforts to allow in aid.
“But instead of applying pressure on the jihadist terrorists, Macron wants to reward them with a Palestinian state. No doubt its national day will be October 7,” it added, alluding to the date of Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.
Israel last week partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on supplies entering Gaza, which is enduring severe shortages of food and medicines even as truckloads of humanitarian assistance have begun to trickle in.
Mr Macron, meanwhile, has stepped up his statements of support for the Palestinians of late.
On Friday he said European countries should “harden the collective position” against Israel if it did not respond appropriately to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including keeping open the possibility of sanctions.
“If we abandon Gaza, if we consider there is a free pass for Israel, even if we do condemn the terrorist attacks, we will kill our credibility,” Mr Macron told a top defence forum in Singapore.
He also called the recognition of a Palestinian state, with some conditions, “not only a moral duty, but a political necessity”.
France is co-hosting with Saudi Arabia an international conference at the UN in New York meant to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - an outcome the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes.
In its statement Friday, the Israeli foreign ministry said: “Hamas, for its part, has already praised Macron’s statements. Hamas knows why.”
GRETA THUNBERG GOING TO GAZA
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg will travel to Gaza on a humanitarian ship on Sunday to protest Israel’s war on the territory, as Hamas rejected the latest US-backed ceasefire deal.
The 22-year-old had set sail for Gaza earlier this month but the trip was cancelled when the FFC ship she was on suffered damage en route in a suspected Israeli drone strike.
Joining Ms Thunberg and other activists will be outspoken left-wing French-Palestinian politician and member of France’s LFI party Rima Hassan.
Ms Hassan — who has caused controversy in the past with her statements on the Middle East — was refused entry to Israel in February on a visit with a delegation of European parliamentarians.
Ms Hassan took to social media on Friday to announce the protest operation and plead for public support.
“To guarantee our security, and also the success of our mission, we need maximum mobilisation by the public for this initiative,” she posted.
Ms Hassan said the protest operation had “several aims: to condemn the humanitarian blockade and ongoing genocide, the impunity granted to the state of Israel and raise international awareness.”
Aid has begun trickling back into Gaza in recent days but humanitarian groups warn the war-ravaged territory is facing mass starvation.
HAMAS REJECTS US-BACKED TRUCE DEAL
It comes as Hamas rejected Donald Trump’s new ceasefire proposal which the White House earlier announced Israel had “signed off” on.
Negotiations to end more than 19 months of war have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in Gaza in March after a brief truce.
The White House said President Trump and US envoy Steve Witkoff had “submitted a ceasefire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed”.
“Israel signed off on this proposal before it was sent to Hamas,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, adding discussions were “continuing” with the militants.
Israel has not confirmed that it approved the new proposal.
Hamas sources said last week the group had accepted a US-backed deal, but political bureau member Bassem Naim said the new version meant “the continuation of killing and famine … and does not meet any of our people’s demands, foremost among them halting the war”.
“Nonetheless, the movement’s leadership is studying the response to the proposal with full national responsibility,” he added.
A source close to the group said the new version “is considered a retreat” from the previous one, which “included an American commitment regarding permanent ceasefire negotiations”.
According to two sources close to the negotiations, the new proposal involves a 60-day truce, potentially extendible to 70 days, and the release of 10 living hostages and nine bodies in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during the first week.
ISRAEL EXPANDS WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS
Israel announced on Thursday the creation of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, putting further strain on relations with the international community already taxed by the war in Gaza.
Both Britain and neighbouring Jordan slammed the move, with London calling it a “deliberate obstacle” to Palestinian statehood.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and are seen as one of the main obstacles to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
The decision to establish more, taken by the country’s security cabinet, was announced by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, himself a settler, and Defence Minister Israel Katz, who is in charge of managing the communities.
“We have made a historic decision for the development of settlements: 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria, renewing settlement in the north of Samaria, and reinforcing the eastern axis of the State of Israel,” Smotrich said on X, using the Israeli terms for the southern and northern West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.
“Next step: sovereignty!” he added.
FOUR DEAD AFTER PALESTINIANS STORM UN FOOD WAREHOUSE
Four people have died as hundreds of hungry and desperate Palestinians rushed into a United Nations food warehouse in southern Gaza.
Two were fatally crushed and two others died of gunshot wounds after the crowd forced its way into the World Food Programme warehouse in Deir al-Balah, tearing off pieces of the building to get inside.
Footage showed crowds breaking into the food hub and taking bags and cartons of food supplies as gunshots rang out.
“Hordes of hungry people broke into WFP’s Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Central Gaza, in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution,” the World Food Programme said in a statement on X.
“Initial reports indicate two people died and several were injured in the tragic incident,” it said, adding: “WFP is still confirming details.”
Intense criticism has been levelled at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed group that has bypassed the longstanding UN-led system in the territory.
The UN condemned the US-backed aid system in Gaza after 47 people were injured during a chaotic food distribution on Wednesday when thousands of Palestinians desperate for food rushed into a GHF aid distribution site.
Footage of the moment the aid distribution center in Tel Sultan was overrun by thousands of Gazans. According to Israeli security sources, the IDF did not fire from the air but fired warning shots in the air, adding that the U.S. security company regained control over the site. https://t.co/mDbeaHRgRLpic.twitter.com/vbWS2DeCFv
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) May 27, 2025
A Palestinian medical source said at least one had died.
The Israeli military said soldiers did not fire at civilians. “WFP urgently calls for safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to enable orderly food distributions across Gaza immediately,” its statement said.
– with AFP
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