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French President Emmanuel Macron called on Saturday for a halt to arms deliveries to Israel that are being used in the conflict in Gaza.

"I think the priority today is to return to a political solution, to stop delivering weapons for the fights in Gaza," he said during a special broadcast on France Inter radio dedicated to Francophonie.

"France is not delivering any," he added during the interview, which was recorded on October 1.

US President Joe Biden has so far refused to use the arms delivery leverage against Israel, aside from suspending a bomb shipment in May.

The United Kingdom, for its part, announced in September the suspension of about 30 arms export licenses to Israel out of a total of 350, following a review that concluded there was "a risk" they could be used in violation of international humanitarian law in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which followed an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The French president regretted that no progress was being made in Gaza, despite all diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire, especially with Israel.

"I think we are not being heard. I reiterated this to Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu, and I think it's a mistake, even for Israel's security tomorrow," Emmanuel Macron emphasized.

"We can clearly see it in our public opinions, and it's even more painfully evident in the public opinions of the region—there is a resentment being born, a hatred that is being fueled by this," he added.

Following the launch of the Israeli operation against the pro-Iranian Islamist movement Hezbollah in Lebanon, Emmanuel Macron also reiterated that the "priority is to avoid escalation."

"The Lebanese people cannot be sacrificed in turn, and Lebanon cannot become another Gaza," he stressed.

With AFP