French President Emmanuel Macron warned Friday that France may impose sanctions on Israeli settlers if humanitarian access to Gaza is not restored in the coming days, escalating pressure on Israel over its months-long blockade of the Palestinian territory.
"The humanitarian blockade is creating a situation that is untenable on the ground," Macron said during a press conference in Singapore alongside Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. "If there is no response in the coming hours and days in line with the humanitarian situation, we will have to harden our collective position."
The French leader's comments mark one of the strongest rebukes of Israeli policy from a Western head of state amid a mounting international outcry over a deepening hunger crisis in Gaza. Despite limited deliveries of food and medicine permitted by Israel, aid agencies and the United Nations warn of an impending famine affecting nearly one in five people.
Macron said he continues to hope for a shift in Israeli policy but emphasized that assumptions about Israel's adherence to human rights obligations can no longer be taken for granted. "But I still hope that the government of Israel will change its stance and that we will finally have a humanitarian response," he stated.
Israel recently bowed to international pressure to allow minimal aid into Gaza through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a new entity backed by the U.S. and Israel. However, the GHF's operations have been plagued by violence and disorganization. UN agencies have criticized the group for failing to meet basic humanitarian standards.
On Friday, an Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza reported that several Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire while attempting to access food distribution sites run by GHF in central Gaza.
UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, said it is prepared to distribute essential aid from its warehouses in Amman, pending Israeli clearance.
Macron's remarks follow a joint statement earlier in the week with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto rejecting any Israeli efforts to seize or depopulate Gaza. The French president also reiterated support for a two-state solution, calling the recognition of a Palestinian state "not only a moral duty, but a political necessity."
French officials are considering such recognition ahead of a United Nations conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia in mid-June, where regional leaders are expected to propose a roadmap for Palestinian statehood with security guarantees for Israel. The move could strain diplomatic ties with Israel and widen divisions among Western allies.
The ongoing conflict, triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 that killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in the abduction of 251 hostages, has since claimed over 54,000 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza health authorities.
