Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuked French President Emmanuel Macron early Saturday morning after Macron called on Israel to stop killing Palestinian “babies and women,” declaring that Hamas was to blame for all civilian casualties.
Macron gave an interview to the BBC, as follows (original emphasis):
Israel must stop killing babies and women in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron has told the BBC.
In an exclusive interview at the Élysée Palace, he said there was “no justification” for the bombing, saying a ceasefire would benefit Israel.
While recognising Israel’s right to protect itself, “we do urge them to stop this bombing” in Gaza, he said.
But he also stressed that France “clearly condemns” the “terrorist” actions of Hamas.
In response, Netanyahu issued a statement:
“The responsibility for any harm to civilians lies with Hamas – ISIS and not with Israel.
It must be remembered that Israel entered the war due to that terrorist organisation’s brutal murder of hundreds of Israelis and holding hostage more than 200 Israelis.
While Israel does everything in its power to avoid harming civilians and urges them to leave the battle areas, Hamas – ISIS is doing all it can to prevent them from moving to safe areas and uses them as human shields.
Hamas – ISIS is cruelly holding our people hostage – women, children, the elderly – and thus committing a crime against humanity.
Hamas – ISIS is using schools, mosques and hospitals as terrorist command centers.
The crimes being committed today by Hamas – ISIS in Gaza will be committed tomorrow in Paris, New York and all over the world.
The leaders of the world should be condemning Hamas – ISIS, not Israel”.
Hamas launched a massive terror attack on Israel on October 7, murdering over 1,200 people, wounding thousands more, and taking at least 240 people hostage. It also uses “human shields,” deliberately placing civilians in the line of fire, hoping to protect itself from attack — or, alternatively, to use civilian casualties to drum up international pressure to stop Israel from defending itself.
Real Admiral Daniel Hagari of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) … said that Israel had “prioritized evacuation efforts over other missions.” He said that the Israel Air Force dropped over 1.5 million flyers warning Palestinians to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip, which is where Hamas’s strongholds are located, and to move south, beyond the Wadi Gaza wetlands, for their own safety. He added that Israel had made 20,000 personal telephone calls to civilian residents of Gaza, telling them to evacuate the area.
Macron also supported a ceasefire in his BBC interview, though a ceasefire would effectively mean a victory for Hamas.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect a revised number on the death toll from the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel. The Israeli government estimate of 1,400 was revised to around 1,200, according to Reuters.