Abbas to Macron: Int'l community must stop Israeli 'aggression' on Gaza

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has told France's Emmanuel Macron that the international community must halt Israel's "aggression" on Gaza.

"We urge you, President Macron, to stop this aggression," Abbas said on Tuesday after the two leaders held talks in Ramallah dominated by the conflict that has left thousands of civilians dead in Gaza.

The Palestinian leader strongly condemned Israeli air strikes which he said "kill innocent civilians in a barbaric way".

Abbas said Israel "and the countries that support it are responsible for the conflict". He added that there should be an "international peace conference" on Gaza.

Macron told reporters that "nothing can justify" the suffering of civilians in the Palestinian territory since the October 7.

Earlier in Jerusalem, Macron defended Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas.

The first Western leader to go to the Palestinian Authority's headquarters in the occupied West Bank during the current crisis, Macron said: "There will not be any sustainable peace if there is no recognition of the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to have territory and a state.

"There will be no sustainable peace if there is no clear recognition by the Palestinian people and their authorities of an Israeli state and the importance of its existence and its security," he added.

Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says that 5,791 people - including more than 2,000 children and 1,400 women - have been killed in Israel's air raids.