French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that Israel’s aim of eliminating the Palestinian group Hamas risked unleashing a decade of war.

“I think we’re at a point where the Israeli authorities are going to have to define their objective and desired end state more precisely,” Macron said at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN’s COP28 climate talks in Dubai.

“What is the total destruction of Hamas, and does anyone think it’s possible? If it is, the war will last 10 years,” he said.