French ambassadors pen letter to Macron urging change of stance on Israel's Gaza war

Ten French ambassadors in the Middle Eastern and North African region have co-signed a letter criticising France's policy on Israel's war on Gaza.

A French diplomat told Le Figaro that the letter - which was confidential and not being published - was a "dissenting note", adding that France was damaging its reputation over the long term in the region by steering away from its "traditionally balanced approach" to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The letter, which was presented to French President Emmanuel Macron and the foreign ministry, noted that public opinion regarding France in the Arab world had been damaged, with the ambassadors stating that France is being "accused of complicity in genocide".

Jordan, Bahrain and Turkey were among the countries that withdrew ambassadors from Israel. A joint summit by the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation held on Saturday strongly condemned Israel's indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza.

The foreign ministry told Le Figaro that it was unable to comment on the letter.

Since the 7 October Hamas attack on southern Israel which killed around 1,200 Israelis and took around 240 more hostage, French President Emmanuel Macron has offered diplomatic support to Israel's ongoing bombardment and siege of the Gaza Strip.

During a trip to Israel, Macron called for the current international coalition against Islamic State to start adding Hamas to its operational remit.

French police initially banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the outset of the war - although that nationwide ban was struck down by France's highest judicial body.

With international pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza mounting, Macron has since publicly criticised Israel's bombardment which has so far killed 11,320 people including 4,650 children, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health, saying that there was "no justification for killing children".

The authors of the letter noted that the recent comments by Macron were a "sign" that the position of the French government had to change. Le Figaro noted that many officials within the foreign ministry sympathised with the ambassadors.