French President Emmanuel Macron has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were “too many civilian losses” in Israel’s war in Gaza, as Paris readied more humanitarian aid for the besieged enclave, Al Jazeera reports.

According to a statement from Macron’s office, the French president reminded Netanyahu of the “absolute necessity to distinguish terrorists from the population” and “the importance of achieving an immediate humanitarian truce leading to a ceasefire”.

Macron also condemned violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank, the statement said. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed there since Israel began its war in Gaza.

Macron also spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is from the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank.

He told Abbas of “the need for the Palestinian Authority and all countries in the region to unequivocally and with the greatest firmness condemn the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas in Israel on October 7”.

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