France will not abandon any of its children in Gaza, Macron says

President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he would do everything to bring back French citizens held by Hamas in Gaza, but warned that the only way to end the bloodshed would be through guaranteeing Israel's security and creating a state for Palestinians.

France has Europe's largest Jewish community with thousands of dual nationals living in Israel and the largest Muslim population in Western Europe.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the past has contributed to growing tensions between the two communities and the French leader opted to address the nation as he looks to prevent any escalation at home.

Macron said 13 French citizens had been killed by Palestinian militants from Hamas in its October 7 attacks in Israel and that a further 17, including children, were unaccounted for with some likely being held in the besieged Gaza enclave bordering the Mediterranean.

"France is doing everything alongside Israeli authorities and our partners to bring them home safely because France never abandons its children," he said.

Calling Hamas a terrorist group that wanted the destruction of Israel and its people, Macron said a war without end was not the solution.

"Israel has the right to defend itself by eliminating terrorist groups, including Hamas through targeted actions, but also by preserving civilian populations because that's the duty of democracies," Macron said.

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Macron said he had spoken to leaders across the region and that the priority should be to prevent the conflict spreading to Lebanon and ensuring humanitarian aid was available, but he said there had to be a longer term response.

"Fighting terrorism cannot replace the search for peace. The conditions for a lasting peace are known: Indispensable security guarantees for Israel and a state for Palestinians," he said without making any suggestions on how to achieve this after decades of impasse.

After the arrival in Paris of a number of French citizens repatriated from Israel on Thursday, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said she would be heading to Israel on Sunday.

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Macron avoided going into the details of the October 7 attack and apportioning blame beyond Hamas.

His foreign ministry spokesperson said earlier in the day that despite close links between Hamas and Iran, France had no formal trace of a direct Iranian role in the attacks.

France has no formal trace directly implicating Iran in the Hamas attacks on Israel, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, adding that Paris had passed messages to regional actors warning against taking advantage of the crisis.

"The message we are passing is clear. We insist that no actor hostile to Israel attempts to take advantage of these attacks," Anne-Claire Legendre told reporters in a news conference.

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