TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - French President Emmanuel Macron called the redistribution of Gaza aid a "top priority." He made the statement during a visit to the city of El-Arish in Egypt, a major transit point for supplies to the Palestinian territory currently ravaged by war.
“The situation today is intolerable,” Macron said near the border with Gaza on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, as quoted from Arab News. He called for the “resumption of humanitarian aid as quickly as possible.”
Almost all of the 2.4 million Gazans have been displaced multiple times due to the Israeli military occupation. The Israeli attacks were a response to Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel continued its assault on Gaza on March 18, after a nearly two-month ceasefire.
Since March 2, 2025, Israel has blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into the area following a disagreement with Hamas on how to proceed with the ceasefire after its initial phase.
Macron also responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and rebuild it into what he called the “Riviera of the Middle East” by displacing the Palestinian population. “It’s not a real estate project,” Macron said. “The reality is that you have two million people locked up... After months and months of bombing, of a terrible war, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives,” he stated.
“You have tens of thousands of children who are mutilated without families. This is what we’re talking about when we talk about Gaza.”
Alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Macron had visited a hospital in the port city, 50 kilometers west of the Gaza Strip. Macron also met with medical professionals and injured Palestinians who had been evacuated from Gaza.
The French President visited several wards and children's playgrounds with a bouquet of red roses to give to the patients.
The French presidency's office stated that the trip was intended to increase pressure on Israel to “the reopening of crossing points for the delivery of humanitarian goods into Gaza.”
Macron also denounced Israel's attack last month that killed 15 paramedics and aid workers, according to UN records and Palestinian rescue teams.
“Above all, humanitarian workers must be protected when they intervene, because they are not stakeholders in the conflict,” Macron said.
Emergency unit doctor Mahmud Mohammad Elshaer stated that the hospital had treated around 1,200 Palestinian patients since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
“Some days we can receive 100 patients, others 50,” Elshaer said. He also added that many had limbs amputated or suffered eye or brain injuries.
In Cairo, Macron, El-Sisi, and Jordan's King Abdullah II called for an “immediate return” to a ceasefire. The three leaders met on Monday, April 7, to discuss the war and humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of Gaza's 2.4 million inhabitants.
In addition, in a joint statement the previous Monday, the heads of several UN agencies said many Gazans are trapped, bombed, and starving. Not only that, food, medicine, fuel, and housing supplies have accumulated, and vital equipment is being held outside the blockaded area.
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