French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a trilateral summit on the situation in Gaza with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Monday and Tuesday. This comes as Israel steps up its new offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas and renews strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel has pushed to seize territory in Gaza since the collapse of a short-lived truce in its war with Hamas, in what it has called a “strategy” to force the militants to free hostages still in captivity.
Simultaneously, Israel has escalated attacks on Lebanon and Syria.
“In response to the Gaza emergency and during my visit to Egypt at President al-Sisi’s invitation, we will hold a trilateral summit with the Egyptian president and the King of Jordan,” Macron wrote on social media X ahead of his trip.
The French president is expected in Cairo on Sunday evening, where he will hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart on Monday morning.
The trilateral summit will be held the same day in the Egyptian capital, according to Macron’s office.
On Tuesday, Macron will also visit the Egyptian port of El-Arish, 50 kilometres west of the Gaza Strip, to meet humanitarian and security workers and demonstrate his “constant mobilisation in favour of a ceasefire”.
El-Arish is a transit point for international aid intended for Gaza.
