King Abdullah calls for international pressure on Israel in meeting with France's Macron

Emmanuel Macron held more talks on the Gaza war in Cairo with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi

French President Emmanuel Macron with King Abdullah II in Amman on Wednesday. AP

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King Abdullah of Jordan called on the international community "to urgently pressure Israel to stop the war, protect civilians, and end the siege on the Strip," during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Amman on Wednesday, the royal palace said.

King Abdullah warned that the continuation of the war against Gaza "may lead to an explosion of the situation in the region". He also rejected any actions intended to displace Palestinians in Gaza.

Mr Macron left Amman for Cairo, where he held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, and cautioned against Israeli an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza that could further endanger civilians.

"France recognises Israel's right to defend itself," he told reporters in Egypt.

"Regarding a ground intervention, if it is entirely targeted against terrorist groups, that is a choice that it has, but if it is a massive operation that would endanger civilian populations, in that case I think it would be an error for Israel."

At a joint news conference with Mr El Sisi in Cairo, Mr Macron said that humanitarian aid must enter Gaza without obstacles.

Mr Macron said it was essential to get fuel supplies to hospitals, adding that a French navy ship would arrive soon to help bring support to Gaza hospitals and a plane will arrive in Egypt with key supplies.

Mr Macron thanked Mr El Sisi for securing the release of some hostages, but said that "all hostages should be released".

Egypt has been one of the main brokers in efforts to secure the release of more than 200 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza..

Mr El Sisi said he agreed with Mr Macron to work on containing the crisis in Gaza, introduce aid and seek to prevent other parties from entering the conflict.

The two leaders agreed that any displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip towards Egyptian territory would be "extremely dangerous", Mr El Sisi said.

"We condemn all actions that affect all civilians and this should be addressed with one standard," Mr El Sisi said.

Mr El Sisi said that his country was playing a "very positive role" trying to de-escalate and find a diplomatic solution to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Inspecting scores of Egyptian warplanes, tanks, and other military hardware at an exercise on the western edge of the Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, Mr El Sisi said that Egypt would use its military capabilities only "to defend itself".

On Tuesday, the French president was in Israel, where he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed support for Israel's operations against Hamas – while demanding that it applies the rules of war.

"We are democracies that are fighting against terrorists, democracies that respect the laws of war, democracies that do not target civilians, in Gaza or elsewhere,” Mr Macron said.

Mr Macron later met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

Jordan and Egypt have been among the countries most critical of the Israeli offensive on Gaza, which was initiated in response to a surprise attack by Hamas against Israeli targets on October 7.

At the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Jordan was among the Arab countries to express outrage over the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza, while Israel attacked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for what it views as his disproportional focus on Palestinians.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the conflict in Gaza is being seen as a war between the West and Islam in the latest stark warning from the kingdom about the war.

Israeli authorities said 1,400 people were killed the October 7 attack. Hamas-aligned health officials say the Palestinian death toll has exceeded 5,000.

On Wednesday, while inspecting military units in Suez, Mr El Sisi said Cairo was playing a very positive role in de-escalating the Gaza crisis.

He said it was important to "use capabilities wisely" and that the army's role was to secure Egyptian borders.

He said it was very important to rely on a diplomatic solution for the Palestinian cause.