Macron says France to recognize a Palestinian state

Our live coverage of the crisis in Gaza as well as of France’s announcement about recognizing a Palestinian state has wrapped for the day. Please scroll through the posts below to learn about Thursday’s developments.

You can also watch the interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour here on YouTube

A crowd of protesters gather around a large Palestinian flag during the Red Line for Gaza demonstration in Paris, on July 8.

Countries are reacting to French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly in New York.

France is not alone. Last year Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognized Palestinian statehood.

Here’s what we’re hearing:

Spain: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez commended France’s commitment to recognizing Palestinian statehood. “I celebrate that France joins Spain and other European countries in recognizing the state of Palestine,” he posted to X. “Together, we must protect what Netanyahu is trying to destroy. The two-state solution is the only solution.”

Saudi Arabia: The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Macron’s announcement as a “historic decision which affirms the international community’s agreement on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and having their own independent state along the borders agreed upon in 1967, with East Jerusalem as a capital.” It added that it hoped other states would follow suit.

Jordan: An Arabic-language post to X attributed to the foreign ministry’s spokesperson expressed hope that the announcement will “garner international support for further recognition of the Palestinian state based on the two-state solution, being that it is the only path to achieving just, comprehensive peace that ensures security and stability around the region.”

This post was updated with Jordan’s reaction.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen in Washington, DC on July 8.

An Israeli minister who talked about wiping out Gaza and claimed there was no hunger there does not talk for the Israeli government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media.

Israel’s ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter also condemned the remarks by Eliyahu.

“The quotes attributed to Minister Eliyahu to the effect that the government of Israel is “rushing toward Gaza being wiped out,’ and that, ‘we don’t have to be concerned about hunger in the Strip,’ do not reflect the policy of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government,” the ambassador posted to X.

“The exact opposite is true. Despite the enormous difficulties of providing humanitarian aid to the non-combatant population of Gaza, we have done so with determination and commitment.”

Leiter said the Israeli government’s aim was to create a way to supply aid to Gaza bypassing Hamas.

Smoke billowing east of Gaza City following Israeli strikes on July 13.

Israeli Minister of Heritage Amihai Eliyahu claimed in a radio interview that there “is no hunger in Gaza” and said the government is “racing to have Gaza wiped out,” in remarks that were strongly condemned by other Israeli officials.

When asked if Israelis should be concerned about the images coming out of Gaza of harmed children, Eliyahu said, “No. No nation feeds its enemies. The British didn’t feed the Nazis. The Americans didn’t feed the Japanese. The Russians aren’t feeding the Ukrainians now. The Americans didn’t feed the Iraqis when they occupied there.”

He added, “Should we be dealing with their hunger? This whole discourse is insane. We’ve totally lost it. We’re supposed to deal with this? It’s madness.”

The minister went on to say that there will be no enclosed settlement in Gaza, rather “all of Gaza will be Jewish.”

Aid agencies have repeatedly sounded the alarm at the hunger crisis in Gaza, saying aid is at the border unable to enter. On Tuesday, Gaza’s health ministry said 900,000 children are going hungry, and 70,000 already show signs of malnutrition, while the World Health Organization chief has said Palestinians in Gaza are suffering from man-made “mass starvation.”

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff listens as President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a meeting in the Oval Office on July 16.

Hamas has said President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff’s remarks over its response to mediators regarding a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal are “malicious, biased, dishonest, and categorically rejected.”

Earlier today, Witkoff said the latest response from Hamas “clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire.”

Witkoff said in a post on X that the US “will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza,” without providing details on the alternative options.

The militant group said the remarks were “nothing but part of the ongoing psychological warfare and false Israeli propaganda aimed at justifying the continuation (of Israeli aggression).”

French President Emmanuel Macron seen on Wednesday in Berlin, Germany.

Hamas has welcomed President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France will recognize a Palestinian state.

In a statement Thursday, the militant group called on “all countries of the world, especially European countries and those that have not yet recognized the state of Palestine, to follow France’s example.”

A crowd of protesters during the Red Line for Gaza demonstration in Paris, France on July 8.

France will not be alone in recognizing a Palestinian state in September, a senior official in the French presidency told CNN today after President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise announcement.

France, with Saudi Arabia, has been shepherding allies toward a recognition for weeks already.

Nevertheless, “the idea is to put a bit of pressure on other countries,” the official added.

A planned summit to be co-hosted with Riyadh in July was postponed due to the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran. The meeting has now been pushed back to September around the United Nations General Assembly with world leaders already gathered in New York.

Editor’s note: This post contains disturbing images. Viewer discretion is advised.

Food markets are empty. Human waste is piling up. Illness is spreading. And people in Gaza are “collapsing on the streets from hunger and dehydration.”

That’s the stark warning issued by more than 100 international humanitarian organizations on Wednesday, in a joint statement calling on Israel to end its blockade, restore the full flow of food, clean water and medical supplies to Gaza, and agree to a ceasefire.

“Every day without a sustained flow of aid means more people dying of preventable illnesses,” said the statement, signed by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and dozens of other NGOs. “Children starve while waiting for promises that never arrive.”

Scores of people — most of them children — have died of malnutrition since the conflict began in October 2023, the Palestinian health ministry says.

Israel has previously blamed Hamas for its decision to halt aid shipments, alleging the militant group was stealing supplies and profiting from it. Hamas has denied this allegation.

Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, an 18-month-old child in Gaza City, is held on July 21. He faces life-threatening malnutrition as the humanitarian situation worsens due to ongoing Israeli attacks and the blockade. Having dropped from 9 to 6 kilograms (approximately 20 to 13 pounds), he struggles to survive in a tent.

Young Palestinians wait for a charity organization to distribute food in Gaza City on July 24.

Samah Matar holds her malnourished son Ameer, who has cerebral palsy, at a school where their family is taking shelter in Gaza City on July 24.

Palestinians gather for aid in Beit Lahia, Gaza, on June 17.

Yazan, a malnourished 2-year-old, stands in his family’s damaged home in the Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City on July 23.

Alaa Al-Najjar mourns her 3-month-old baby, Yehia, at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, on July 20. Medics said Yehia died from malnutrition.

See more images of starvation in Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmud Abbas in September 2024, during a meeting on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In his letter to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, French President Emmanuel Macron said recognizing a Palestinian state was “the only way to meet the legitimate aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians” and must “be achieved as quickly as possible.”

Macron said in the letter that he would “pay particular attention” to the implementation of a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of the hostages still held by Hamas, the disarmament of the militant group and the “consolidation of the Palestinian Authority throughout the Palestinian territories.”

Macron said he would formally announce France’s recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

He added that a conference France will co-chair with Saudi Arabia in September will discuss the “peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-state solution.”

Correction: An earlier version of this post said the France-Saudi Arabia chaired conference would be held next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seen on July 8, during his visit to Washington, DC.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood.

Here’s what other Israeli leaders said:

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar: “The French president’s pretension to dictate a final-status arrangement in our land with a mere statement is absurd and unserious,” he said, adding that a Palestinian state would be “a Hamas state” and that Macron could not provide security for Israel.

Defense Minister Israel Katz described the decision as “disgrace, a surrender to terror, and a reward and boost” to Hamas. “Instead of standing with Israel at this time of trial, the president of France is acting to weaken it,” Katz posted to X. “We will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence, and undermine our historical right to the Land of Israel. We are all united in order to prevent this grave danger.”

Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich: “I thank President Macron for providing yet another compelling reason to finally apply Israeli sovereignty over the historic regions of Judea and Samaria, and to definitively abandon the failed concept of establishing a Palestinian terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel,” he said. Judea and Samaria is the biblical name of what is now the occupied West Bank.

Some context: Earlier on Thursday, Israel approved significant new budget transfers for investment in transportation infrastructure in the occupied West Bank, with Smotrich saying the project would “implement de facto sovereignty.”

Although France’s recognition of a Palestinian state has been expected for several months now, French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement was not expected to land like this.

The surprise news tells us two things: Firstly, that Macron feels this is the time to act. Leaders from France, the UK and Germany are due to speak tomorrow to seek urgent action over the new lows of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More than a thousand Gazans have been killed desperately seeking food, dozens more from starvation itself.

Secondly, it also suggests a hint of desperation on Macron’s part. He’s a man who likes a coalition on the world stage – strength in numbers is usually a winning strategy.

This move, the first by a major Western power, may heap pressure on other allies to follow suit. The Elysee Palace is surely hoping for a domino effect across the West. With aid still cruelly beyond the reach of ordinary Gazans, perhaps it’s a long shot to bring some relief.

President Donald Trump, outside the West Wing of the White House on July 16.

The Trump administration does not have a high-level individual appointed to focus on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, even as the situation in the war-torn enclave grows increasingly dire.

The Biden administration established a Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues position to work on matters of humanitarian access into Gaza.

The officials who served in that role were in direct contact with the key players in Israel – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Israel’s intelligence agencies, the IDF, COGAT – as they looked for ways to get more humanitarian support into the Gazan people.

Without such an official appointed by the Trump administration, there are concerns among former officials and aid groups about the extent of the administration’s efforts to get more humanitarian support into Gaza.

Israeli officials have also privately said to former US officials who worked on this portfolio that the absence of such an envoy signaled to them that the US no longer cares about getting humanitarian support into Gaza, sources said.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said France will recognize a Palestinian state in an announcement to the United Nations General Assembly in September.

“True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the state of Palestine,” Macron posted to X.

“The urgent need today is to end the war in Gaza and to rescue the civilian population,” he continued, reiterating calls for an immediate ceasefire, access to humanitarian aid for the population of Gaza, the release of all hostages and the demilitarization of Hamas.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the consul in Jerusalem delivered a letter from Macron to the Palestinian Authority stating France’s intention and Barrot said he would confirm France’s commitment at the United Nations on Monday.

Palestinian Authority (PA) Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh posted to X thanking Macron for his letter to PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

Alaa Al-Najjar mourns her three-month-old baby Yehia, who medics said died due to malnutrition, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on July 20.

Malnutrition-related deaths in children are up 54% since April, according to UNICEF citing Palestinian Health Ministry data.

More than 100 people have died from malnutrition during Israel’s war in Gaza – 80% of them children, according to UNICEF, and at least four children have died from starvation in the past 48 hours.

“These deaths are unconscionable – and could have been prevented,” UNICEF added.

Last month, 6,500 children were admitted for treatment for malnutrition, the highest number since the conflict began, according to the agency. Already 5,000 children have been admitted in just the first two weeks of this month.

Here’s a video from June of a Palestinian boy’s emotional plea for food.

Palestinian boy’s emotional plea for food in Gaza

01:23 • Source: CNN

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, pictured on June 28.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he will hold an emergency call on Friday with France and Germany to discuss what they can do to stop the killing and get food into Gaza as the crisis reaches “new depths.”

Context: Aid groups have sounded the alarm over the hunger crisis and lack of humanitarian aid in Gaza amid Israel’s blockade. All 2.1 million people in Gaza are now food insecure. On Tuesday, Gaza’s health ministry said 900,000 children are going hungry, and 70,000 already show signs of malnutrition.

A man stands amidst rubble following an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

The United States remains committed to trying to get a ceasefire, State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said today, but would not say if the US will fully pull out of its negotiating role in the Doha format.

Witkoff would not say what in the Hamas response made the United States determine it was negotiating in bad faith.

Asked whether the US will pursue additional steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza in the absence of a ceasefire, Pigott again touted the work of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

“It is never enough in a war zone,” he said. “That’s why we were working so hard for a ceasefire.”

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa speaks with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

Hamas is “doing the best they can” to end the war in Gaza, and the problem “is still on the Israeli side,” according to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.

Palestinian Authority officials have stressed to Hamas the need to end the war “for the sake of our people” and underscored the need for Hamas and Israel to cooperate, Mustafa told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview.

He said he was outraged by the hunger crisis in Gaza and the severe aid shortage brought about by Israel’s blockade.

He urged the opening of border crossings to allow aid into Gaza as soon as possible. “There is a lot of aid waiting at the gates. The gates are closed by the Israeli government,” he said.

Israel denies it is at fault and accuses Hamas of “engineering” food shortages. Israel has also pushed back on calls to allow more aid in, saying there are truckloads waiting at the border to be collected by aid agencies.

The World Health Organization’s chief has said that Palestinians in Gaza are suffering from a man-made “mass starvation” due to the aid blockade on the enclave.

Gaza father cries in agony after son shot dead

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed near aid sites and convoys in the last eight weeks, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. CNN’s Jeremy Diamond reports on the agony of a family who lost their 13-year-old son while waiting to get food. CNN has reached out to Israeli authorities regarding the incident, but did not receive a reply.

03:00 • Source: CNN

You can also watch the report here on TikTok

Gazans facing starvation and Israeli aggression say they are afraid to walk the distance to an aid center out of fear that they may “die on the way or be shot,” says Mara Kronenfeld, executive director of UNRWA USA, which provides support for the humanitarian work of the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees.

Neighbors are fainting in the streets and aid workers themselves don’t have enough food to get energy to continue the work they are doing, she said.

Kronenfeld criticized Israel’s response on the starvation crisis as “disingenuous at best and dark and cynical at worst.”

Israel has denied creating famine in Gaza and accused Hamas of “engineering” food shortages.

“UNRWA has the equivalent of 6000 trucks of aid, emergency aid and medicine sitting just outside the border. Let that aid in,” Kronenfeld said.

Israel’s blockade is creating a restriction on food and aid availability, which is increasing food prices and the “possibility that people might hoard it,” she noted.

One in five children in Gaza City are facing malnutrition, she said, describing “a catastrophic, indescribable situation on the ground in Gaza.”

Kronenfeld also said that the aid distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation “is a drop in the bucket.” It has four distribution sites in southern Gaza, so the sick, elderly, young and disabled people have walk far to get that aid, which has resulted in deaths and injuries, she pointed.

Meanwhile, UNRWA has 400 sites and they distribute aid to people where they are with “transparency, integrity and with the dignity of those who are receiving aid,” Kronenfeld said.