France FM calls for 'immediate and durable' Gaza truce

TEL AVIV: France calls for an “immediate and durable” truce in the Gaza war, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Sunday, stressing Paris is “deeply concerned” over the situation in the Palestinian territory.

“Too many civilians are being killed,” the top diplomat said in remarks alongside her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Tel Aviv, while stressing that the victims of Hamas’s October 7 attack should not be forgotten.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that France could play a key role in preventing a war in Lebanon as cross-border skirmishes continue to raise tensions.

“France could play a positive and significant role to prevent a war in Lebanon,” Cohen said at a joint media briefing with visiting French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.