Category: Foreign

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Netanyahu announces plan to take over Gaza City in further escalation

Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan to take over Gaza City, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said, marking another escalation in the 22-month offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, destroyed most of Gaza and pushed the territory into famine.

Ahead of the security cabinet meeting, which began on Thursday and ran through the night, the Israeli prime minister had said Israel planned to take control of the entire territory and eventually hand it off to friendly Arab forces opposed to Hamas.

The announced plans stop short of that, perhaps reflecting the reservations of Israel’s top general, who reportedly warned it would endanger the remaining 20 or so living hostages held by Hamas and further strain Israel’s army after nearly two years of regional wars. Many families of hostages are also opposed, fearing further escalation will doom their loved ones.

The resolution by the security cabinet will still need to be approved by the full cabinet, which may not meet until Sunday.

Israel has repeatedly bombarded Gaza City and carried out numerous raids there, returning to different neighbourhoods again and again as militants regrouped. It is one of the few areas of Gaza that has not been turned into an Israeli buffer zone or placed under evacuation orders.

The plan would mean sending ground troops into territory making up approximately 25% of Gaza.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, the plan is being framed as a limited operation rather than a full invasion, apparently to placate military chiefs wary of long-term occupation. The chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, has reportedly warned that occupying Gaza would plunge Israel into a “black hole” of prolonged insurgency, humanitarian responsibility and heightened risk to hostages.

A major ground operation there could displace tens of thousands of people and further disrupt efforts to deliver food to the territory.

The plan would force approximately 1 million Palestinians in Gaza City and other areas into evacuation areas in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. According to sources familiar with the details of the meeting, the evacuation of Gaza City is scheduled to be completed by 7 October.

The Israeli security cabinet’s decision has ignited protests both at home and abroad. Thousands of demonstrators are preparing to take to the streets over the weekend, while families of the remaining hostages held in Gaza fear an escalation could doom their loved ones. Dozens of them protested outside the security cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Thursday.

Former top Israeli security officials have also come out against the plan, warning of a quagmire with little added military benefit. The Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, denounced the cabinet’s move on Friday, calling it a disaster that would “lead to many other disasters”, including the death of the hostages and the killing of many soldiers, as well as costing Israeli taxpayers tens of billions and causing “diplomatic bankruptcy”.

The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said Israel’s decision was wrong and urged it to immediately reconsider. “This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed,” he said in a statement.

The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, said the Israeli government’s plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip “must be immediately halted”.

Netanyahu’s office said that under the plan to defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army would prepare to “take control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside combat zones”.

An Israeli official had earlier said the security cabinet would discuss plans to conquer all or parts of Gaza not yet under Israeli control. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity pending a formal decision, said that whatever was approved would be implemented gradually to increase pressure on the Palestinian militant group.

Palestinians, at least 90% of whom have already been displaced at least once by the war and of whom nearly one in 10 have been injured in Israeli attacks, are braced for further misery. There is little remaining of the healthcare system and aid agencies such as the UN have been largely shut out by Israel.

Aya Mohammad, a 30-year-old Palestinian who, after repeated displacement, had returned with her family to Gaza City, said: “Where should we go? We have been displaced and humiliated enough. You know what displacement is? Does the world know? It means your dignity is wiped out, you become a homeless beggar, searching for food, water and medicine.”

At least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals. (Guardian)

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More than 60 countries scramble to respond to Trump’s latest tariffs

More than 60 countries around the world are scrambling to respond to the latest wave of US tariffs announced by Donald Trump, which came into force on Thursday.

Industry representatives in rich and poor countries warned of job losses as the tariffs upended a decades-old world trading system with rates ranging from 10% to 39%, 40% and 41% for Switzerland, Brazil and Syria.

All over the globe, leaders were attempting to put contingencies in place after Trump’s tariff threats turned to reality at a minute past midnight Washington time.

The Brazilian government said it was planning a state aid plan for companies affected. The president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said the duties were “unacceptable blackmail”.

Switzerland said it was seeking new talks with the US after a last-gasp mission to Washington by its president, Karin Keller-Sutter, failed to stop a 39% tariff blow that industry group Swissmem described as a “horror scenario”.

In a statement after an emergency meeting with Keller-Sutter, the Swiss cabinet said the tariffs would “place a substantial strain on Switzerland’s export-oriented economy”.

“For the affected sectors, companies and their employees, this is an extraordinarily difficult situation,” Keller-Sutter told reporters.

Taiwan is also continuing talks with the US. Its president, Lai Ching-te, said the 20% rate imposed on the key Washington ally was “temporary”.

Ireland, which is locked into an EU-US deal setting the tariff ceiling at 15%, said it would publish a new plan for diversifying an economy that relies heavily on US multinationals including Intel, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, all in Trump’s crosshairs.

Despite a last minute reprieve from Trump for Lesotho with tariffs dropping from 50% to 15%, the impoverished African nation said it was already hurting.

Textile industry players in the country – which produces jeans and other garments for US companies including Levi and Walmart – said the uncertainty around tariffs over the past few months had already devastated the sector, with orders cancelled and jobs cut.

Laos, which, like Brazil and Myanmar, was hit with a 40% rate, was among those handed a steep increase in import duties because of a trade imbalance with the US.

“A 40% tariff is just a nail in the coffin for any industry trying to ship to the United States,” Johannes Somers, the executive chair of the garment manufacturing firm Diep Vu, told Agence France Presse.

“We estimate about 20,000 workers or more could be impacted,” added Xaybandith Rasphone, the head of the Association of the Lao Garment Industry.

The sweeping “reciprocal” rates were announced by the White House a week ago, just before a previous 1 August deadline was due to elapse.

Just before the tariffs came into effect at midnight, Trump claimed on social media that billions of dollars would start flowing into the US as a result.

However, while the customs duties make countries’ exports more expensive and less competitive, they are payable on import and usually passed on to the customer.

“The only thing that can stop America’s greatness would be a radical left court that wants to see our country fail,” the president wrote in capital letters, referencing an ongoing case in the US court of appeals, which is considering whether he exceeded his authority in imposing the tariffs.

Some trading partners had already secured reductions through negotiations or by striking deals, including the UK, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan and the EU.

The EU is the only trading partner where its baseline rate of 15% will include previous tariffs. It means, for example, cheeses that are normally hit with import duties of 14.9% will be taxed at 15% and not 29.9%.

However, the deal has only been implemented in part with tariffs of 27.5% still being imposed on EU car imports while the details of the US-EU deal are being finalised.

Hildegard Müller, the president of the German car industry federation, said the EU-US deal had “brought no clarity or improvement” to the industry.

“The sectoral tariffs on cars and automotive parts of 27.5%, which have been in effect since April and May respectively, remain in place and place a significant burden on German automakers and automotive suppliers, as well as on transatlantic trade.

“It is important that the promised agreement is reached now and the relief measures are implemented promptly,” she said.

India’s 25% tariff rate could rise to a total of 50% after Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday imposing an additional levy in retaliation for the country’s purchase of oil from Russia. Delhi has 21 days to respond. Trump has threatened to use the same tactic on other countries that supply Russia. (Guardian)

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Japan’s population falls by 908,574 in record low

The population of Japanese nationals fell by a record amount—more than 900,000 people—in 2024, official data showed, as the country battles to reverse its perennially low birth rates.

While many developed countries are struggling with low birth rates, the problem is particularly acute in Japan, where the population has been declining for years.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called the situation a “quiet emergency,” pledging family-friendly measures like more flexible working hours and free day care to try and reverse the trend.

Last year, the number of Japanese fell by 908,574, or 0.75 per cent, to 120.65 million.

The decline—for a 16th straight year—was the largest drop since the survey began in 1968, the internal affairs ministry said Wednesday.

Foreign resident totals, however, were at their highest since records began in 2013.

There were 3.67 million foreigners as of January 1, 2025, representing nearly three per cent of the whole population in Japan, which was more than 124.3 million as of that date.

The overall population of the country declined by 0.44 per cent in 2023.

The latest figures come as the government struggles to raise stubbornly low birth rates, while frustration over inflation and other concerns among some voters prompted the rise of a new opposition party with a slogan of “Japanese First”.

The anti-immigrant party has falsely claimed foreigners enjoy more welfare benefits than Japanese nationals.

Foreign nationals are helping address labour shortages exacerbated by the ageing population, and most commonly hold jobs in the manufacturing, hospitality, and retail sectors.

By age, Japanese nationals aged 65 and over accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the population, while the age group between 15 and 64 made up 60 per cent, both minor increases from the previous year.

Japan has the world’s second-oldest population after tiny Monaco, according to the World Bank.

The number of births in Japan last year fell below 700,000 for the first time on record, health ministry data released in June said.

The fast-ageing nation welcomed 686,061 newborns in 2024—41,227 fewer than in 2023, the data showed. It was the lowest figure since records began in 1899.

The shrinking population is also gutting rural communities, with the number of abandoned homes in Japan soaring to almost four million over the last two decades, government data released last year showed.

Many of the homes belong to people living in major cities who have inherited them from relatives and who are unable or unwilling to keep them renovated.

The world’s oldest person, Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka, died at the age of 116 in December.

Women typically enjoy longevity in Japan, but the expanding elderly population is leading to soaring medical and welfare costs, with a shrinking labour force to pay for it. (Punch)

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Ghana’s defence, environment ministers among 8 killed in helicopter crash

A helicopter crash has killed all eight people on board, including the nation’s defence and environment ministers, according to Ghana’s government.

Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the victims of the crash in the southern Ashanti region of the country, said Julius Debrah, chief of staff to President John Mahama, on Wednesday.

“The president and the government extend their condolences and solidarity to the families of our comrades and soldiers who fell in their service to the nation,” said Debrah.

Also among the victims were Alhaji Mohammad Muniru Limuna, deputy national security coordinator and former minister of agriculture, and Samuel Sarpong, vice chairman of Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) party.

Boamah was helming Ghana’s defence ministry at a time when armed groups across its northern border in Burkina Faso had become increasingly restive.

While Ghana has so far avoided a rebel spillover from the Sahel – unlike neighbours Togo and Benin – observers have warned of increased arms trafficking and of fighters from Burkina Faso crossing the porous border to use Ghana as a rear base.

A medical doctor by training, Boamah’s career in government included stints as communications minister during Mahama’s previous 2012-2017 tenure. Before that, he was the deputy minister for the environment.

As Ghana has pursued increased diplomacy with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – all ruled by military governments who have broken with the ECOWAS West African regional bloc – Boamah led a delegation to Ouagadougou in May.

He had been set to release a book titled, A Peaceful Man in an African Democracy, about former President John Atta Mills, who died in 2012.

The Ghanaian Armed Forces had reported earlier Wednesday that an air force helicopter had fallen off radar after taking off from Accra just after 9:00am (09:00 GMT). It had been headed towards the town of Obuasi, northwest of the capital.

The statement had said that three crew and five passengers were on board, without specifying at the time that the ministers were among them.

All flags were to be flown at half-staff, Debrah said, while the presidency said Mahama had cancelled his official activities for the day. (AlJazeera)

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UK introduces tougher gun laws following deadly shootings

People with a record of violence or domestic abuse will be prevented from owning firearms under new rules in the United Kingdom following a series of killings in recent years.

The new guidance, issued on Tuesday, came in response to concerns raised by coroners and campaigners after shootings in England’s Woodmancote and Keyham.

Police officers will be instructed to interview partners or other household members of people applying for a firearms licence to identify signs of domestic abuse.

Other factors that could make someone unsuitable to own a weapon.

They must carry out additional checks to ensure people with a record of violence are not permitted to hold a firearms licence.

The move came two years after an inquest found that “catastrophic failures” in the licensing system had meant Keyham gunman Jake Davison had been allowed to own a shotgun despite his history of violence.

Davison, then 22, killed his mother and four others, including a three-year-old girl, in an eight-minute shooting spree before taking his own life in August 2021.

Evidence of dishonesty will also be considered against an application, including the withholding of relevant medical history.

Robert Needham killed his partner, Kelly Fitzgibbons, and their daughters, Ava and Lex, with a legally owned shotgun at their home in Woodmancote in 2020.

He was given a licence even after admitting that he had failed to disclose a history of depression and work-related stress.

Emma Ambler, Fitzgibbons’ sister, welcomed the changes but said there was “still some way to go.”

She said: “I still believe that holding a gun licence is a privilege and not a right.

“The priority has to be the safety of society, and it’s so important to stop these extremely dangerous weapons falling into the wrong hands, which these changes will go some way to doing.”

Tuesday’s changes will also mean applicants for shotgun licences now require two referees rather than one, bringing the process into line with the rules for other firearms.

Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “Only those who meet the highest standards of safety and responsibility should be permitted to use shotguns or firearms.

“It is crucial that police have full information about the suitability of all applicants for these lethal weapons.

“The events in Woodmancote in 2020, Plymouth in 2021, and other cases provide a tragic reminder of what can happen when these weapons are in the hands of the wrong people.

“We must do everything we can to protect the public.”

Controls on shotgun ownership could be further toughened after another consultation, due to be launched later this year, that will also seek views on improving the rules on private firearms sales.

The new consultation follows the case of Nicholas Prosper, who killed his mother, Juliana Falcon, and siblings Giselle and Kyle Prosper in Luton in 2024.

Prosper, 19, had been able to purchase a shotgun and 100 cartridges from a legitimate firearms dealer after forging a licence.

He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 49 years after pleading guilty to the murders earlier this year. (Guardian)

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Canada to recognise Palestinian state at UN General Assembly

Canada plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday, a major policy shift that drew an angry response from US President Donald Trump and was rejected by Israel.

Carney said the move was necessary to preserve hopes of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a long-standing Canadian goal that was “being eroded before our eyes.”

“Canada intends to recognise the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025,” the prime minister said.

This makes Canada — a G7 nation — the third country, following recent announcements by France and the United Kingdom, to signal plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September.

Carney said the worsening suffering of civilians in Gaza left “no room for delay in coordinated international action to support peace.”

Israel blasted Canada’s announcement as part of a “distorted campaign of international pressure,” while Trump warned that trade negotiations with Ottawa may not proceed smoothly.

“Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them.”

Asked by reporters if there was a scenario where Canada could change its position before the UN meeting, Carney said: “There’s a scenario (but) possibly one that I can’t imagine.”

Canada’s intention “is predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to much-needed reforms,” Carney said, referring to the body led by President Mahmoud Abbas, which has civil authority in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Carney said his plans were further predicated on Abbas’s pledge to “hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarise the Palestinian state.”

With Wednesday’s announcement, Carney positioned Canada alongside France, after President Emmanuel Macron said his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state during the UN meeting, the most powerful European nation to announce such a move.

The Israeli embassy in Ottawa said, “Recognising a Palestinian state in the absence of accountable government, functioning institutions, or benevolent leadership, rewards and legitimises the monstrous barbarity of Hamas on October 7, 2023.”

The PA’s Abbas welcomed the announcement as a “historic” decision, while France said the countries would work together “to revive the prospect of peace in the region.”

Canada’s plan goes a step further than this week’s announcement by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Starmer said the UK will formally recognise the State of Palestine in September unless Israel takes various “substantive steps,” including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Carney stressed that Canada has been an unwavering member of the group of nations that hoped a two-state solution “would be achieved as part of a peace process built around a negotiated settlement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.”

“Regrettably, this approach is no longer tenable,” he said, citing “Hamas terrorism” and the group’s “longstanding violent rejection of Israel’s right to exist.”

The peace process has also been eroded by the expansion of Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, Carney said.

The prime minister said a two-state solution was growing increasingly remote, with a vote in Israel’s parliament “calling for the annexation of the West Bank,” as well as Israel’s “ongoing failure” to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

He framed his decision as one aimed at safeguarding Israel’s future.

“Any path to lasting peace for Israel also requires a viable and stable Palestinian state, and one that recognises Israel’s inalienable right to security and peace,” Carney said. (Punch)

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Unsung hero behind hula hoop invention dies aged 101

Joan Anderson, who coined the name for the hula hoop and played an unsung role in its rise, has died age 101.

The former model was visiting her native Australia from her home in the US when she spotted groups of people swivelling wooden hoops around their waists.

She was so mesmerised by the growing craze in Australia that she had one of the strange new toys shipped to the US.

The 2018 documentary Hula Girl retold Ms Anderson’s story of dubbing it the hula hoop after the hip-swivelling Hawaiian dance, and how it was she and her husband who first showed it to a toy company boss.

It went on to sell millions and become a global sensation – but the couple went uncredited for their role in its rise.

Recounting meeting the boss of American toy conglomerate Wham-O in the early 1960s, Ms Anderson told documentary makers: “We told him, ‘we’ve called it the hula hoop,’.

“He said, ‘looks like it has some merit, if it makes money for us, it’s going to make money for you’.”

Ms Anderson claimed the deal was sealed with a “gentleman’s handshake” and it began to fly off the shelves in the US.

But in the years that followed, the firm’s boss “kept putting us” off, Ms Anderson said, and the pair eventually filed a lawsuit which resulted in a modest financial settlement – but crucially, no formal recognition of their role in its rise.

Later accounts of its invention mentioned how an “Australian friend” brought an early version to the US.

She told documentary makers: “I think that bugged me more than anything. It was never reported correctly at all. I was not a ‘friend’.”

Born Joan Constance Manning in Sydney on 28 December 1923, she worked as a swimsuit model and met Wayne Anderson, a US Army pilot, on Bondi Beach and married him soon after.

Speaking to the BBC, the filmmaker behind the story of Ms Anderson’s life said: “Telling Joan’s story was such a rewarding experience.

“She was 94 when we met and even with everything she’d been through, she had lived an amazing, full life.

“Seeing her finally get the recognition she deserved after all those years was incredible.”

Ms Anderson died on 14 July at a nursing home in Carlsbad, California, having lived “a wonderful life”, her family said.

She is survived by two sons, a daughter and six grandchildren. Another son, Carl, died in 2023. (BBC)

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President Mahama appoints Said Sinare as Ghana’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

President John Dramani Mahama has turned to experienced hands in his latest diplomatic appointments, nominating former NDC National Vice Chairman Alhaji Said Sinare as Ghana’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia – a familiar terrain for the seasoned diplomat who previously held the same position during Mahama’s first term. 

The July 21 appointment letter from the Presidency, sighted by our newsroom, forms part of a broader reshuffle that sees eight new envoys deployed to strategic posts including South Korea, Italy and Kenya. But it’s the Saudi Arabia posting that’s generating the most buzz in diplomatic circles, given the Gulf nation’s growing importance to Ghana’s economic interests. 

“Sinare isn’t just going as an ambassador – he’s going as Ghana’s chief negotiator in one of our most critical bilateral relationships,” a Foreign Ministry insider revealed. “From oil deals to Hajj arrangements and infrastructure financing, Riyadh has become too important to leave to inexperienced hands.” 

The ever ambitious diplomat brings rare credentials to the table, having previously served as Ghana’s top envoy in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt. His deep understanding of Arab diplomacy and extensive network across the region are seen as major assets at a time when Ghana is seeking to attract Middle Eastern investment. 

Political analysts view the move as part of Mahama’s strategy to rebuild Ghana’s diplomatic corps with proven performers. “This is back-to-basics foreign policy,” remarked University of Ghana international relations professor Nana Akosua Ankomah. “Rather than political appointments, we’re seeing the return of career diplomats who know how to open doors for Ghana.” 

The appointment has been widely praised within government circles, with NDC executives describing Sinare as “the right man to reconnect Ghana with our Gulf partners.” His supporters point to his track record of facilitating Saudi investment in Ghana’s energy sector during his previous tenure. 

As Ghana positions itself to benefit from shifting global economic alliances, these ambassadorial selections suggest a clear foreign policy direction. With Sinare back in Riyadh, expectations are high for tangible results in Ghana-Saudi relations – from increased oil cooperation to better conditions for Ghanaian migrant workers. 

The Foreign Ministry is expected to complete accreditation processes within weeks, paving the way for what many hope will be a new chapter in Ghana’s economic diplomacy. For Sinare, it’s an opportunity to build on his legacy; for Ghana, a chance to solidify crucial Gulf partnerships at a time of global uncertainty. (Vanguard)

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New York gunman was targeting NFL but went to wrong office, mayor says

A gunman who killed four people when he stormed a skyscraper in the heart of New York on Monday evening left a note that appeared to blame the National Football League (NFL) for a brain injury, the city’s Mayor Eric Adams says.

The attacker, 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, shot himself dead after opening fire in a building where the American football league has its headquarters, but went to a different part of the building after taking the wrong lift.

The gunman was carrying a note in which he blamed CTE, a brain disease triggered by head trauma, for his mental illness, Adams said.

Tamura played football as a teenager but did not play in the NFL, ex-teammates have told US media.

New York City police officer Didarul Islam, 36 – who was working as a security guard at the building – was among those killed.

Another of the victims was an employee of finance giant Blackstone, who was named by her company as Wesley LePatner.

Two male civilians were also killed. An NFL employee was also “seriously injured” in the attack, the league’s commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a message to staff.

Asked about a possible motive, Adams told CBS: “[He] did have a note on him. The note alluded to that he felt he had CTE, a known brain injury for those who participate in contact sports.

“He appeared to have blamed the NFL for his injury.”

Tamura was a football player during his time at high school in California, ex-teammates earlier told NBC News.

The gunman appears to have driven across the US from Las Vegas to New York, and used an assault-style rifle during the attack.

After opening fire in the lobby, Tamura is believed to have entered a lift to the 33rd floor of the skyscraper and continued to open fire.

Mayor Adams said a preliminary investigation shows that the gunman mistakenly went to the office of Rudin Management, which owns the building.

Tamura later turned his gun on himself.

The incident brought parts of Midtown Manhattan and public transportation to a halt. A BBC journalist at the scene reported seeing scores of police vehicles and at least one person with a bloodied chest being taken away on a stretcher.

Bystanders reported hearing what sounded like gunshots and police told those in the area, including the BBC journalist, to shelter in nearby buildings. (BBC)

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France defends move to recognise Palestinian state

France defended its decision to recognise Palestinian statehood amid domestic and international criticism on Friday, including against the charge that the move plays into the hands of militant group Hamas.

President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, the most powerful European nation to announce such a move.

Macron’s announcement drew condemnation from Israel, which said it “rewards terror”, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it “reckless” and said it “only serves Hamas propaganda”.

Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, quipped that Macron did not say where a future Palestinian state would be located.

“I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called ‘Franc-en-Stine’,” he said on X.

Hamas itself — which is designated a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union — praised the French initiative, saying it was “a positive step in the right direction toward doing justice to our oppressed Palestinian people”.

But French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Friday argued that Macron’s initiative went against what the militant group wanted.

“Hamas has always ruled out a two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France goes against that terrorist organisation,” Barrot said on X.

With its decision, France was “backing the side of peace against the side of war”, Barrot added.

Domestic reactions ranged from praise on the left, condemnation on the right and awkward silence in the ranks of the government itself.

The leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella, said the announcement was “rushed” and afforded Hamas “unexpected institutional and international legitimacy”.

Marine Le Pen, the RN’s parliamentary leader, said the French move amounted to “recognising a Hamas state and therefore a terrorist state”.

On the other side of the political spectrum, Jean-Luc Melenchon, boss of the far-left France Unbowed party, called Macron’s announcement “a moral victory”, although he deplored that it did not take effect immediately.

By September, Gaza could be a “graveyard”, Melenchon said.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, a right winger whose relationship with Macron is tense, declined on Friday to give his opinion, saying he was currently busy with an unrelated “serious topic” linked to the “security of French people on holiday”.

But the vice president of his Les Republicains party, Francois-Xavier Bellamy, blasted the decision as possibly “counter-productive” or, at best, “pointless”.

The move risked “endangering Israeli civilians” as well as “Palestinian civilians who are victims of Hamas’s barbarism”, he said.

Bellamy said that Macron’s move was a departure from the president’s previously set conditions for recognition of Palestine, which included a Hamas de-militarisation, the movement’s exclusion from any future government, the liberation of all Israeli hostages in Gaza and the recognition of Israel by several Arab states.

“None of them have been met,” he said.

Among people reacting to the news in the streets of Paris was Julien Deoux, a developer, who said it had been “about time” that France recognised Palestinian statehood.

“When you’ve been talking about two-state solutions for decades but you don’t recognise one of the two states, it’s a bit difficult,” he told AFP.

But Gil, a 79-year-old pensioner who gave only his first name, said he felt “betrayed” by his president.

“As a Frenchman, I’m ashamed to see that tomorrow Hamas could come to power in the territory,” he said.

While France would be the most significant European country to recognise a Palestinian state, others have hinted they could do the same.

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced he would hold a call on Friday with counterparts in Germany and France on efforts to stop the fighting, adding that a ceasefire would “put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state”.

Germany, meanwhile, said on Friday it had no plans to recognise a Palestinian state “in the short term”.

Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all announced recognition following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, along with several other non-European countries.

Once France follows through on its announcement, a total of at least 142 countries will have recognised Palestinian statehood. (Vanguard)