French president opens Gaza aid conference with appeal to Israel to protect civilians

(AP) - French President Emmanuel Macron opened a Gaza aid conference on Thursday with an appeal for Israel to protect civilians as it fights Hamas, saying “all lives have equal worth” and that fighting terrorism “can never be carried out without rules.”

The gathering in Paris, France brought together officials from Western and Arab nations, the United Nations and nongovernmental organisations, with the aim of providing urgent aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip that is being pounded by Israel in its war against Hamas.

Israeli authorities were not invited but have been informed of the talks, Macron's office said.

More than 1.5 million people — or about 70 per cent of Gaza's population — have fled their homes, and an estimated US$1.2 billion is needed to respond to the crisis in Palestinian areas.

Macron reiterated calls for a humanitarian pause in Israel's operations. He said that by attacking Israel on October 7, Hamas “shouldered the responsibility for exposing Palestinians to terrible consequences,” and he again defended Israel's right to defend itself.

But Macron also stressed that civilians must be protected. "It's absolutely essential. It is non-negotiable,” he said. “All lives have equal worth and there are no double standards for those of us with universal and humanist values."

“Fighting terrorism can never be carried out without rules. Israel knows that. The trap of terrorism is for all of us the same: giving in to violence and renouncing our values," he added.

Longer term, Macron also said diplomatic work must resume on bringing peace to the Middle East, with a two-state solution. “We must learn from our errors and no longer accept that peace in the Middle East always be pushed back to later,” he said.

Israel did not respond immediately to the conference's outcomes.

Officials from over 50 nations were attending, including several European countries, the United States and regional powers such as Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf countries.

Also attending is Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who urged the international community to “put an end to the war."

“How many Palestinians have to be killed for the war to end?" he asked. “What Israel is doing is not a war against Hamas, it's a war against the whole Palestinian people.”

“We must take care of the wounded, provide electricity, water, medicines,” Shtayyeh added.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed that Israel had only allowed limited quantities of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing and urged “the entire international community, and donor countries in particular, to continue supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

“The aid that has already entered Gaza is not enough to meet the needs of the entire population, and the voluntary and deliberate complications imposed by Israel on the delivery of aid only lead to a further deterioration of the situation,” he said.

Thursday's discussions also include financial support to help Gaza's civilians.

In a news conference following the conference, human rights and aid groups urged an immediate cease-fire, which they said is crucial for them to be able to work in Gaza.

The secretary general of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, said, “what's happening in Gaza is a litany of violations of international law ... not seen since World War II,” and denounced “indiscriminate, disproportionate, deliberate attacks.”

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