French President Emmanuel Macron has demanded a “lasting ceasefire” in Gaza during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, AFP quotes his office as saying.

“France will work in the coming days in cooperation with Jordan to carry out humanitarian operations in Gaza,” the French presidency added in a statement.

Macron, an ally of Netanyahu since the start of the conflict triggered by the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, told the Israeli premier of his “deepest concern” about civilian deaths and the humanitarian emergency in Gaza.

He also insisted on the importance of measures to end violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank and prevent new planned settlements.