Ilayda Cakirtekin
25 June 2025•Update: 26 June 2025
ISTANBUL
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday reiterated to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the "absolute necessity" of establishing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
"I reiterated to the Prime Minister the absolute necessity of establishing a ceasefire in Gaza," Macron wrote on X where announced that he has spoken with Netanyahu.
He said the release of all hostages in Gaza, the "large-scale" delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave, and the pursuit of a political two-state solution remain " top priorities."
Macron also reaffirmed that he highlighted the importance of respecting the current ceasefire with Iran, which ended the 12-day war over Tehran's nuclear program.
"We share the same objective: that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons. To ensure this over time, I stressed the need to return to negotiations—on both nuclear and ballistic issues," he added.
Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran on June 13, including military and nuclear facilities, alleging that Tehran was on the verge of producing a nuclear bomb, a claim vehemently denied by Iran.
While Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes, the US joined the conflict by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday.
After 12 days of aerial combat between the two regional arch-foes, Trump announced a ceasefire late Monday, which appeared to hold on Wednesday.
