“This fight against terror is a matter of existence for Israel,but it is a matter of existence for all of us,” he said,adding that Israel’s security “cannot be sustainable without a decisive relaunch of the political process with the Palestinians”.
He stressed that Hamas “does not carry the Palestinian cause” and called it “a terrorist group whose very objective is the destruction of the State of Israel”.
Hamas “must be fought with force,” he said. “And the Palestinian cause must be heard with reason.”
The Biden administration responded to Macron’s remarks by emphasising its bilateral support for Israel including the supply of military equipment.
“Our focus right now is making sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself and to go after Hamas,particularly leadership,” said the US National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications,John Kirby,when asked about Macron’s remarks.
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“We have almost daily now provided security assistance to Israel.
“So our focus is really on helping Israel from a bilateral perspective,be able to beat back the terrorists,and then also,obviously,to work on the humanitarian situation,to get hostages home,of course,and take the necessary force protection measures we need for our troops in the region.”
Kirby,speaking to reporters in a briefing at the Australian embassy in Washington,said the US was “deeply concerned” about the danger of the conflict spreading to other countries in the region and added there was “no question” that Iran was supplying weapons to militias firing on US forces.
“One of the reasons why the president has added additional force posture in the region,to include two carrier strike groups,is to try to prevent that from happening,” he said of the risk of conflict spreading.
Wong pledged $10 million in aid to the people of Gaza on October 14,but the main corridor for supplies has been tightly controlled at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt,a key barrier also in Australian efforts to help 46 Australians who are seeking to flee the conflict.
Albanese said the government was talking to the Egyptian government to try to move the Australians to safety.
“Our priority has been getting both people in Israel,but also people in Gaza,who want to leave,who are Australian citizens,out,” he said in Washington.
“We’ve also continued to emphasise the importance of humanitarian support for people in Gaza.
“We have engaged with Egypt as well,very directly,because Australian citizens need that protection.
“I continue to emphasise that Australia’s position is for the protection of innocent lives. We mourn as a nation every innocent life which has been lost in this conflict,whether it be Israeli or Palestinian. Every innocent life is valued. And there is a need to make sure that international law is respected and upheld.”
More coverage of the Hamas-Israel conflict
- Cascading violence:Tremors from the Hamas attacks and Israel’s response have reached far beyond the border. But what would all-outwar in the Middle East look like?
- The human cost: Hamas’ massacre in Israel has traumatised – and hardened – survivors. And in Gaza,neighbourhoods have become ghost cities.
- ‘Hamas metro’:Inside thelabyrinthine network of underground tunnels,which the Palestinian militant group has commanded beneath war-ravaged Gaza for 16 years. The covert corridors have long provided essential channels for the movement of weapons and armed combatants.
- What is Hezbollah?: As fears of the conflict expanding beyond Israel and Hamas steadily rise,all eyes are on the militant group and political party that controls southern Lebanon and has been designated internationally as a terrorist group.How did it form and what does Iran have to do with it?