Emmanuel Macron warns that wanting “the total destruction” of the Islamist movement would require “ten years” of war

Emmanuel Macron raises the specter of a “endless war”. The French president warned Israel, Saturday December 2, that the objective of a “total destruction of Hamas” should be “precise”because it risked generating “ten years” of war. “The total destruction of Hamas, (…) does anyone think it is possible?”asked the Head of State during a press conference on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai, asking that “this objective be clarified” by “the Israeli authorities”.

As Israel shells the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the bloody Hamas attack on October 7, “the good fight against terrorism is not systematic and permanent bombing”, said Emmanuel Macron again, expressing his “worry” after the truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement in power in Gaza expired on Friday.

“The right response against a terrorist group is not to eliminate an entire territory or bomb the entirety of civilian capabilities”, insisted the French president. Emmanuel Macron affirmed that it was about “sustainable security” of Israel, which could not be guaranteed if it “comes at the cost of Palestinian lives, and therefore the resentment of all public opinion in the region”.

In this perspective, the Head of State called for “redouble our efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire, to obtain the release of all hostages still held by Hamas and to provide the people of Gaza with the aid they urgently need”.