 "France's Macron meets Israeli President Isaac Herzog, says releasing hostages must be 'first objective'")
French President Emmanuel Macron met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. In the meeting, Macron said, “The first objective should be the release of all hostages without any distinction. You are not alone in this war against terrorism.”
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said, “We are a strong nation and we are committed to overcoming and destroying our enemies. The situation is extremely complicated and fragile though. On one hand, we are demanding the full and immediate release of all our citizens who are abducted and hijacked, the immediate release as we are seeing clear crimes against humanity, we are seeing the sufferings of young and old.”
Macron will also meet his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday, according to AFP. The French President is the latest leader to make a solidarity visit to Israel after the October 7 attacks by Hamas, but would be the first to visit the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the occupied West Bank during the crisis. The French presidency did not immediately confirm the meeting. With inputs from agencies